An Insecure Violet
by MizuToriFFN
Summary: (Now a full story. Ch.1 is the summary. Ch.2 and beyond starts from when they first met.) Kyouka is acting frustrated and distant, and Izuku's not sure what it's all about. He goes to his girlfriend to sort out the issue, and answer a question that he thinks the answer should be obvious.
1. How Could I Not?

**A/N: THIS CHAPTER WAS ORIGINALLY A ONESHOT. This chapter takes place in the future. The full story really begins next chapter, starting at the entrance exam. So technically the real first chapter is after this.**

"I'm fine."

Oh no...that was never good. Over the months since Izuku had started his relationship with Kyouka, he had gotten to know all of her signs. For instance, she played with her jacks when she was nervous. Or she chewed her tongue whenever she was thinking of song lyrics. Or her quick wit and humour was very abundant whenever she was in a good mood. And oddly enough, she would be completely silent and continuously gaze into Izuku's eyes whenever she wanted to...have a _jamming out _session in bed.

But, this was the sign that was always worrisome.

_ "I'm fine." _

Short, curt, and monotone. Never a good sign. Her jacks were almost always moving around and ready to attack anything that annoyed her. Her arms were crossed at almost all times. And Izuku could never walk up to her and initiate any physical contact. It was only allowed if she did it herself, and to make sure she didn't get any angrier Izuku just let her do it at any time.

Once Bakugou had really gotten on her nerves one day, and she had made Izuku wrap his arms around her while he was doing dishes. But, that's what made this time even scarier.

She wasn't touching him at all. She wasn't _avoiding _him exactly, but she definitely wasn't initiating anything. And now, after saying _"I'm fine" _, she had left to her room. Izuku only had one more thing to do now.

Figure out what the hell he did.

Izuku paced back and forth in front Kyouka's dorm room door trying to figure out what exactly he did to make her so mad. He has absolutely no past reference to pull from because, well...he had never actually made Kyouka mad before.

Okay, just one time.

**_(One Month Ago)_**

Izuku unwrapped his arms from around Kyouka's sleeping form and rubbed his eyes from drowsiness. He had woken up in the middle of the night and needed to use the bathroom. He turned around in bed, and sat up to go to the toilet.

But, when he looked up he saw something in the darkness. Right near Kyouka's desk was the sihloette of what seemed to be someone or something. Out of fear that a villain had broken in, Izuku panicked and jumped toward the "villain" and attacked. "Smash!"

_*__KRRSCH__* _

_'Oh...that didn't sound like a human being punched...uh oh.' _

Behind him, Kyouka had jumped awake and flailed around in the blankets. "AH WHAT THE HELL!?" Kyouka fumbled around her bed until she hit the switch for her lamp. The dim light illuminated the room for Kyouka to see her boyfriend standing over her now destroyed bass guitar. "Wh-...WHAT THE FUCK DUDE!?"

Kyouka jumped out of bed and crouched down to pick up what was left of her instrument. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean t-to-"

"What!? What _exactly _went through your head that made you want to destroy my bass guitar!?"

"W-Well you know when you see shilloetes in the dark and you think it's someone i-in the room, so you just kind of stare at it and try to decipher if it's actually somebody? W-Well...I kind of attacked it thinking it was a villain."

Two things happened after that explanation:

Kyouka glared at him silently.

He slept alone that night.

**_(Present)_**

Luckily, Eri's quirk control training was far enough along for her to just barely rewind things for a few seconds. Izuku didn't ask Eri to fix it, knowing how scared she was of her quirk. But, Eri actually offered to do it herself because she was more than happy to "Make Mama happy and get Papa out of the doghouse". How she learned doghouse as a term he still didn't know.

In the end it was all okay and Kyouka accepted his apology. This time however, Izuku had absolutely no idea what was wrong. _'Did I say something? It's not an anniversary, I have those all planned out. It's not her birthday. It's not Eri's birthday. I didn't break anything...this time. It's not...that time of the month. She acts differently than this. It's not-' _

"Are you just gonna stand outside and mutter all day Mop-head?" Izuku whipped around to see Kyouka in her doorway looking at him. "Cause it's kinda getting on my nerves."

"S-Sorry...Can I come in?" Kyouka motioned for Izuku to enter, and the two walked inside and sat side by side on Kyouka's bed. Izuku took Kyouka's hand, "Kyouka. What's wrong? If I did something, I'm so sorry. I'll-"

"What? No it's not you Izu. I-...Well it involves you, but you did nothing wrong." Izuku scrunched up his face in confusion. His silence signaled Kyouka to continue. "Izuku...Why do you like me?"

"Because I love you."

Kyouka gave a breathy chuckle, "Nice try smart ass. I mean...I don't understand why you like _me _of all people. All of the other girls are so... beautiful, and smart, and energetic, and I'm just...I don't know." Kyouka began to tug and twirl on her earphone jacks as she looked at her lap. Izuku was being dead quiet, which to Kyouka meant he couldn't think of a legitimate reason. To which then she thought he would realize he could likely have any girl he wanted and leave her.

What she didn't expect was to look up and see Izuku looking completely confused. "Why wouldn't I like you? I-I mean, you're Kyouka Jirou. A-And...why are you only asking this now? We've been together for for quite awhile."

"I guess...back at the Sports Festival I was so taken aback that you actually liked me I just rolled with it. I didn't want to ask questions and ruin it. I liked you, and you liked me. I didn't want to destroy that reality."

"But that _is _reality. Kyouka, I love you-"

"But why!? I just don't get it! I'm a tomboy, I can sometimes be a complete bitch, I'm not super smart, I have this sorry excuse for a feminine body. And you're so heroic, and kind, and cute. You're so amazing that All Might chose you to take his powers. I just don't get it Izuku!"

Izuku watch as Kyouka broke down and put her head in her hands. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. This was how he usually thinks. He didn't understand how _she _could like _him. _She had been hiding these insecurities all this time, and he never even said anything. Izuku knew she was sensitive about her body, but she hardly ever brought it up. He thought that she didn't think it was a big deal. But, now he knew they were real issues she had.

He should have seen it. Whenever there was a math problem Izuku knew Kyouka knew how to do and had done so many like beforehand, she still would second guess herself or ask Izuku for help even if she had done the work flawlessly. She never liked shopping for clothes, at least in front of Izuku. She must've thought she wouldn't look good in anything. Izuku highly disagreed with that. He thought Kyouka looked amazing in absolutely everything. She was wearing one of his favorite outifts too. Her Deep Dope tank top with a black tank top underneath, and black jean shorts. On their third official date, she had worn leather leggings and Izuku nearly had a heart attack when he saw her.

Even whenever they made love, she usually liked to keep at least one or two articles of clothing on. Izuku never really minded. He actually personally loved it, how clothes would bounce or hang off of her or hug her in the right places. He thought it was just their thing, or she knew he liked it. It wasn't that he didn't want to see all of her, of course he did. He really did. But, Kyouka seemed far more comfortable with something on, so it stayed that way.

Now Izuku realized that she did that because she didn't want him to see her body. She was afraid he wouldn't like it. Izuku was ashamed that he let this go on. He should have seen this long ago. He needed to show her just how much he loved every single last piece of her.

He had an idea, but it was going to be a little embarrassing for both of them.

Izuku stood up and got down on his knees in front of Kyouka. He took her hands away from her face. She looked up at him with tears in her deep purple eyes. Izuku knew it was extremely cliche, but he had to say it.

"Even when you're crying you're beautiful." Kyouka scoffed, but Izuku saw a small smile grace her lips. Izuku reached his hands up and began coursing his fingers through Kyouka's hair. "I love your hair. Have I-I told you that you're the reason purple became my favorite color?"

Kyouka gave a watery smile, "Yeah...A lot actually."

"It covers your brain too. The amazing mind that's in the top ten of the whole class. The amazing mind that's made my favorite songs. The amazing mind that makes up jokes and wisecracks faster than Iida can ever hope to run and make m-me laugh harder than Ms. Joke could ever hope."

Izuku softly moved his fingers down and caressed both of Kyouka's cheeks. He used his thumbs to wipe away the stray tears. "Your face is perfect. It's... angelically beautiful. Your eyes are alluring. One minute they're full of passion and excitement, a-and the next they're essentially saying 'screw you' to anyone who's annoying you."

He made Kyouka chuckle a little at that. He moved his hands over to her earphone jacks. "Y-Your quirk is so cool. That's not even mentioning how good they look on you. And to top it all off, they're the reason we met. I wanted to know how they worked so bad that I wasn't even afraid to talk to a gorgeous girl."

"Hehe._ *sniff* _You were a dork then and you're a dork now. But now you're way cheesier. Did you write all of this down?"

"Hush, I'm not even halfway done." Izuku moved his hands and caressed Kyouka's neck and collar. "You're voice is breath-taking. Everyone knows it. It was the first thing to make Eri smile. Do you remember how she was so proud, that every person that walked by us she would point at you and say 'That's my Mama the singer' for an entire week? If you were what made her smile after everything she's been through, then you have to realize how amazing you are."

Kyouka did remember that. God, she loved that little girl. She didn't care how many annoying Disney songs she had to sing. She'd sing them for an eternity if she had to for Eri. Izuku moved his hands to caress Kyouka's biceps, which had grown over her time at U.A. "Not much t-to say about these. They're just plain sexy." Kyouka laughed again. She was glad that she had taught Izuku to be less awkward since getting together.

Izuku moved to Kyouka's hands, "I still believe that you have a second quirk that makes you good with your hands...I meant for your music, n-not a sex th-thing...It was also a sex thing."

Kyouka was also happy that her humour rubbed off on Izuku.

He brought his hands back up to Kyouka's chest, and placed a hand over her heart. "The heart of a hero. You can't deny it. You have it. It's also a heart with the capacity to love a nerd like me. Now that's impressive. I don't know where you get "tomboy" from. Last time I checked, tomboys are associated with a lot of male things. I wouldn't exactly call make-up, skirts, and cardigans masculine. You're a girl at heart, AND on the outside. Being tough and not taking anyone's crap doesn't make you a tomboy, Kyouka. A meek nerd like me actually finds it sexy."

"Hey. If you're going to cheer me up you can't bring yourself down at the same time."

Izuku smiled, "Fair enough. But you also just proved my point."

"...Call me sexy again."

"You're very, _very_ sexy." Izuku slowly and carefully moved his hands to hold Kyouka's breasts. They filled Izuku's hands perfectly. Izuku knew she didn't like them, but he couldn't get enough of them. He wasn't a pervert. Izuku had gone his whole life being completely respectful to all women. He hated feeling dirty and perverted. But, he couldn't deny it. He stared at them...a lot. Her breasts weren't big like Momo's, but he honestly liked these more. She definitely couldn't be called flat chested, because they were round, perky, had plenty of volume, and filled out anything she wore perfectly.

"...Izuku?"

"Hm?"

"You've been holding my boobs for five minutes and you haven't said anything."

"Oh! S-Sorry I just...I was hypnotized." Kyouka blushed heavily from that. That was something she thought she would never hear about her body. "I think that says enough about them," Izuku said with a chuckle. He moved down her torso, moving up and down repeatedly. "I don't know what you're talking about for your body. If this isn't hourglass I don't know what is."

Izuku then found her hips. "I've danced with you Kyouka. I know for an absolute fact that you secretly have the best hips in the school."

"Have you seen Mina?"

"I've seen Ashido dance. But she definitely wasn't dancing the way you were that night." Izuku then moved his hands behind Kyouka and his hands found her ass. "Do you remember when I-I said I really liked your leather leggings?"

"Yeah. Why di-...Oh." Kyouka once again blushed wildly. Izuku began moving his hands up and down Kyouka's legs.

"The same reasoning goes for these two." He then moved to her feet, and Kyouka raised a brow.

"Are you secretly a foot guy Izu?"

"No. I was j-just gonna talk about that time you kicked Kacchan in the balls because he called you a bitch."

Kyouka laughed, "Hahahah! The best part was that was the night you told me you loved me for the first time."

"H-How could I not after that?" Izuku's smile then disappeared and he once again looked serious. He brought his hands back up to caress Kyouka's face. "Kyouka. I love you. I love you more than anything. I'd give up my quirk in a heartbeat if you asked me to. And you know the lengths I went through to achieve it. I'd die for you...I-I know that risk is kinda our job, but you know what I mean. Why do I like you? Kyouka...How could I _not _love you? What would I do without you?"

Kyouka's tears began to fall again tenfold. But these were tears of happiness. She still didn't feel like she deserved Izuku, but she knew he would say the same about himself. Of course he would. He was always there for her.

Because he loved her.

And she loved him.

Izuku gave a soft smile, "You're so beautiful."

"And you're so getting laid."

Izuku was suddenly brought up by Kyouka's jacks and her arms wrapped around his neck. Izuku returned her passion by wrapping his arms around her waist. As they moved down onto the covers, Kyouka repeatedly whispered in between kisses, "I love you."

Izuku saw Kyouka completely bare that night...and the next few nights...and the rest of the nights for the month.

And for the first time, Kyouka was more than happy to show herself off to the boy that loved her so much.

Besides, how could she not love him.


	2. Where It All Began (1000 Miles Ago)

"I feel fine. Honest."

Izuku sat in a wooden chair in Recovery Girl's office just after completing the entrance exam. Or, well his attempt to complete it. He didn't do too well. It ended in him broken and battered with zero points.

"Nonsense. I may have used my quirk on you, but breaking your legs and an arm until they burst open is more than simple injuries." Recovery Girl continued to test Izuku's reflexes and joints. "Even if you really are fine, you must be utterly exhausted. Just give me a few more minutes and you'll be-"

_*Knock* *Knock* _

The door to the office suddenly opened to reveal Present Mic. "What's up Recovery Girl!?"

"Too loud!"

"Sorry. We got another one for ya." Present Mic moved out of the way to reveal who he was talking about. Izuku's heart stuttered at the sight of the girl who walked in.

She was slender, but there was some muscle on her arms. Her deep purple short hair, violet eyes, and rosy lips contrasted against her porcelain white skin. Said hair had a zagged soundwave-like streak across it. It wasn't dyed; it was natural. Which made it all the more alluring to Izuku. Her eyes looked bored to most, but the only word Izuku could find was "intense". It was as if she was looking right through him, yet judging him at the same time.

She was wearing a red tank top with the words "Deep Dope" on the front with a black spaghetti strap tank top underneath hugging her curved body. Her wrist had a spiked punk bracelet. On bottom she wore black joggers and black and white tennis shoes.

But, the most noticeable and intriguing thing about her was her ears. More specifically her earlobes. Her ears had long headphone jacks on each one. However, one was bleeding and bruised.

"Oh, what happened?" Recovery Girl asked.

She twirled her good jack around her finger and responded, "I stuck my jack in one of the robots, but I couldn't get it out. When it fell down, it landed on my jack."

"You poor thing. Come here." The girl walked over to Recovery Girl and received a smooch on her jack from the old woman. The small appendage suddenly glowed and went back to normal. The old nurse grabbed a wet rag and wiped the remaining blood away. "There you go. Now before you go, take a seat and regain your bearings. Even small injuries like that can be exhausting due to my quirk.

Before the girl could respond, a chair was pulled up less than a foot next to Midoriya's right, and she was sat down in it. Izuku's body locked up instantly. Just being in her vicinity was apparently too much. "U-Uh I'm feeling a lot better now. I should go."

"Oh alright then. Here, have some gummies." Recovery Girl began searching around in her pockets, found nothing. "Oh! It looks like I've run out of candy. Don't worry, I'll go get some more."

"It's fine. I-I really don-"

"Nonsense. You just wait right there. I'll be right back. I just have to run to the store and get some more."

"The store!? But you-"

"I'll be back!" She closed the door, leaving the teens to themselves. Izuku sat wide eyed in his seat, his body refusing to move. He didn't know what to do. He already was terrible at talking to people in general, but a pretty girl?

He was done for.

The last time he had talked to a girl was…

_'Oh God, have I never actually talked to a girl?' _

His mom didn't count. Any female teachers didn't count. And he didn't remember talking to any girl classmates before everyone besides Kacchan and his group, which didn't have any females, began ignoring him.

_'Wait! What about the girl out front? I talked to her right? I tripped and she caught me. Then, she said something. And then I...sat there...like an idiot...__I'VE__ NEVER TALKED TO A GIRL!' _

The realization sent Izuku spiraling. What was he supposed to do? Well, he technically didn't have to talk to her. They were strangers, and that didn't mean they had to suddenly try and get to know the other. Granted, All Might told him that he had to get at least a little bit better at social activity if he was to be a hero someday. But, Toshinori also never said _when _Izuku had to start learning.

And starting off his social improvement by talking to an attractive girl was WAY TOO MUCH. He needed to work up to it slowly...for about 10 years.

So, the conclusion was made. He would sit in comfortable silence, wait for Recovery Girl to get back, leave, cry himself to sleep because he had failed All Might, his mom, himself, and he would never achieve his dream, have All Might take his quirk back because he didn't deserve it, and then finally sink even further into the dark void of crippling depression.

Perfect plan.

There was just one problem.

Her quirk.

Izuku watched as she tested out her previously injured jack to make sure it healed properly. She inserted her jack into her phone and began playing music. The analyst and quirk obsessor in him was screaming at him to ask her all about it. He had never seen anything like it.

But he couldn't!

It would mean talking to her, and he couldn't handle it. He would shut down and embarrass himself even further. It was simple.

Just. Don't. Ask.

The teen clamped his mouth shut, and sat quietly...for about 15 Seconds. His left eye began twitching, and his right eye moved in all directions. His cheeks were puffed out from containing his words, and he was sweating profusely trying to hold in his question.

Izuku kept it up for a few minutes, keeping his cool. His body relaxed, and he exhaled.

What do you know? He did i-

"What's your quirk!?"

_'...Damn it.' _

The girl turned to him, "What?"

"U-Uh... What's y-your quirk? I'm really interested i-in quirks, and yours looks really c-cool."

"Oh, uh...Well I, uh it's not all that great." Izuku watched as she began looking around and avoiding direct eye contact, playing with the hem of her shirt, searching for words, etc. It was comforting to see someone almost as awkward as he was. "I can channel the sound of my heartbeat through them, causing vibrations and soundwaves and all that. I can capture sound too."

"Wait hold on!" Izuku shot out of his seat and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from Recovery Girl's desk. He sat back down and began writing quickly. "Please continue."

She raised a brow, but rolled with it. "Oookay? My sense of hearing is pretty off the scale."

"Do really loud noises hurt?"

"Sometimes. It's really only if I'm focusing in on it."

"Can you hear through walls?"

"Yeah. Especially if I plug my jacks into 'em."

"With a quirk like that she can be perfect for hostage situations and some villains with sound based quirks; it's amazing how sound goes both ways for her, that can be very useful. I wonder how powerful the vibrations get and if she can amp them up with speakers like Present Mic's gear. It's possible that-"

The purplette gazed in shock as Midoriya spiraled into muttering to himself. As someone who was a singer and lived with vocalists, she could safely say that Izuku had the greatest breath control she had ever seen. "What the hell?"

Izuku snapped out of it, "Wh-What? Oh, sorry. I-I go off on tangents like that a lot."

"So one minute you're Porky Pig, and then Eminem the next. Gotcha."

"I-I guess that analogy works. Th-Thank you for humoring me."

"It's no problem." She went back to playing her music through her jacks, and Izuku went back to freaking out.

_'Holy crap! I did it! I actually did it! I talked to a girl! Like, an actual conversation! I can't wait to tell Mom...And now I've just realized why girls wouldn't want to talk to me. But I can't stop now. I'm on a roll, I just need to keep going. Just a little small talk.' _

There was another issue.

_'How the heck do I do small talk?' _Was he supposed to just start talking about whatever is on his mind? Or was he supposed to find an icebreaker? Or was the quirk interrogation the ice breaker? No matter what, he couldn't let the opportunity slip from his grasp.

Things hadn't gone well for Izuku since...well, since the day he was born. After looking back on his past, he could safely say Kacchan was never actually his friend. At least not in the blondes eyes. To him, Izuku was just another follower, albeit one he knew for longer than the others. Izuku might've still looked up to Katsuki, but friendship was apparently never on the table.

When he made that realization, he realized that he had never had a real friend before. And, it had looked like having one wasn't in the cards for him and never would be as long as he was quirkless. Even after obtaining One For All, Izuku had his doubts.

But, maybe that girl was his chance. Already having a friend going into U.A would be amazing. Well, if he actually had passed the test, which he was 99% sure he didn't. But, he had to have at least a little hope.

Maybe, for once in his life, he could have a friend.

...Who was also a gorgeous young woman.

_'...I'm screwed.' _Izuku shook his head and steeled himself. _'You finally get to talk to a girl, and you're falling apart! Come on Izuku, think of something! Anything! Just say something!" _Izuku looked down her over once more and saw her "Deep Dope" t-shirt, punk bracelet, and her musical themed phone case. _'Music!' _

He probably should've guessed from the headphone jack earlobes.

_'Alright Izuku! You can work with this!' _

"U-Uh…" Kyouka looked at him once more. Her eyes met Izuku's and he froze. He could tell that she was just as shy as him, but he still couldn't speak. Jirou clearly looked like she was into punk rock.

All he had to do, was not mess it up.

"...Ya like jazz?"

Izuku watched in horror as Jirou's eyebrows slowly rose in response to his question. It was literally the exact opposite of what he was supposed to ask. He didn't get to actually talk to the brunette that saved him from falling. But the universe had taken pity on him for once, and gave him a second chance to talk to a girl.

An extremely beautiful one at that.

And he had completely screwed it u-

"Pfffft! Hahahahahahahaha!" Kyouka began laughing hysterically, and Izuku became even more confused. The purple haired teen clutched her sides as she laughed harder and Izuku sweated even more nervously.

He had only one more thing he could think of.

Play along.

"U-Uh...Heheh. Ahaha. Hahahahaha!" The boy began trying to laugh along with her and act like what he said was actually a joke. As the girl calmed down, and waved him off.

"Dude, it's alright. I know it wasn't a joke. It was just too funny to me." She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at him. "I'm glad to know that there's someone even more shy than me around here."

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his lap. "S-Sorry. I'm not used to talking to girls...Or anyone for that matter."

"Hey, I get it. I usually come off as cold and indifferent, so I don't really have that much social experience either. Although, I definitely don't start off conversations like that, Porky." she said, smirking at him.

Izuku tried to hide in his arms, "I-I don't know what's wrong with me."

Kyouka chuckled and tried to pry his arms away from his face. "C'mon man, I didn't mean it. Teasing is kinda my thing."

Izuku lifted up a brow and gazed at Kyouka. Teasing? Light hearted teasing? Teasing that wasn't directly meant to mock and emotionally hurt him?

This girl was an even bigger phenomenon than he had first thought.

"C'mon, I really didn't mean anything by it. What's your name? I can't keep calling you Porky. It's not fitting."

"I-Izuku M-Midoriya."

"Well I-Izuku M-Midoriya, I'm Kyouka Jirou" She said, teasing him once more with his name. Izuku began blushing more. "I'll lighten up on you if it really bothers you."

"No! N-No it's fine. It's actually a nice change of pace."

"Good, because I've been thinking about more nicknames for you Mop-Head. Oh, I actually kinda like that one. What do you think Green Bean?"

"What have I gotten myself into?"

"You're the one that started off the conversation with "Ya like jazz?" So you tell me." Izuku couldn't help but chuckle. The two continued their conversation for quite some time. As the minutes passed, Izuku slowly wished Recovery Girl just didn't come back to the office.

He was actually talking to a girl, and she actually seemed to enjoy talking to him too.

Jirou wasn't overly energetic or anything like that. She was funny and clearly friendly, but very mellow. Her eyes always remained in their unenthused state, but he could see passion and life in them. Her smile was small, but it fit her face so perfectly.

She was...calming. Just being in her presence made Izuku's stressful life seem easy. She was a little shy at first, but once the ice was broken she was talking with him like they had been friends for a long time.

And, oddly enough, that alone helped Izuku feel comfortable too.

Kyouka couldn't believe that she was happy to have crushed one of her jacks. But, it allowed her to meet a dork like Izuku. A dork in a good way.

Adorkable.

She wanted to throw up at the fact that she thought about that word, but she couldn't find a better way to describe him.

"W-What I really wanted to ask you about was your shirt. Deep Dope is a punk rock band right?"

"Oh yeah, they're my favorite band. Who do you listen to?"

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck and blushed, "I d-don't really have one. I just kind of listen to whatever I think sounds good."

Kyouka feigned sorrow. "Oh you poor thing. Here, listen." She plugged on of her jacks into her phone and her other pressed against Izuku's head just ahead of his ear.

"What are you doing!?" Izuku asked in shock at the sudden touch.

"Calm down dude. Just listen." She hit play on her phone, and music began coursing through Izuku's head.

"Wh-...How are-?"

"Bone conduction. Pretty cool right?" Izuku nodded in response as he listened to the music. Punk Rock definitely wasn't something he would have ever thought he would like, but it was actually a good song.

Although the band name was definitely questionable.

"The Sex Pistols?"

"Hush. They're good and you know it."

"I didn't say anything about their music. Just the name."

Kyouka chuckled, "Fair enough." The two looked at one another and smiled. Even with Kyouka's jacks stretched out, the two had unconsciously moved closer to share the phone. The teenage girl looked at Izuku as he closed his eyes and listened to the music.

He wasn't someone that would stand out in a crowd, she was certain of that. But, that wasn't a bad thing. With how crazy quirks could make people look, most that don't have physically augmenting quirks didn't exactly stand out. And she couldn't deny his green hair and diamond freckle pattern combo were memorable.

Her inner self was also noticing something else. He was cute. Arguably pretty handsome. He didn't have stereotypical masculine features like sharp and high cheekbones or a broad chin. But she could see the potential of a strong jawline under some lingering baby fat that would probably come off soon. Kyouka thought back to pictures of her parents when they were her age and how different they looked after only a couple of months.

Kyouka also couldn't help but stare at his eyes. He opened them up for a brief second, and shimmering orbs of emerald met her violet ones. His forest green and black tufts and ruffles of hair came down just over his eyebrows of matching color. All of his features combined into an amalgamation of good looks that could only get better with age.

It also helped that Kyouka noticed he was utterly jacked. The top piece of his tracksuit was off, leaving him in a black t-shirt. And while she could only see his arms up to about half of his biceps, she could definitely tell he worked out.

A lot.

Kyouka was never one to ogle at guys. She had too much to work towards, and she figured no one would ever really be interested in her anyway. But it seemed the quirk nerd had caught her inner teenage girl's attention.

15 years of life, and the first guy she starts to notice is the one that asked her "Ya like jazz?"

...Yeah that was about right.

The song slowly faded out, and the two continued to look at one another. Their close proximity not going unnoticed. Izuku opened his mouth, "H-Hey Jirou? I-"

_"Making my way downtown. Walking fast. Faces pass and I'm homebound." _

Kyouka's eyes shot completely open as she threw her phone across the room in a panic. She whipped back down into her chair and stared at a wide eyed Izuku. "...Uh"

She shot her jacks out and pressed them against his throat. "You. Heard. Nothing."

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Both went back to sitting straight forward, each ignoring what had happened.

Kyouka for embarrassment.

And Izuku for keeping his life.

"...Sooo... What's your quirk?" Izuku turned to her at the question. "You asked me about mine, so now it's your turn."

She saw him immediately start to squirm in his seat. Was it really weak? So weak that he was embarrassed by it? So weak that he...Oh.

"Did your test not go well?" Izuku began rubbing his hands together and looking down at his lap, his expression downtrodden. "Hey, it's alright."

"I-I had a lot of stuff that depended on me passing...and I didn't score a single point." Kyouka's expression saddened as well. She not only felt bad for him, but she was sad that she wouldn't get to see him at school. She had spent 45 minutes really getting to like him, and then suddenly it became likely that she would never see him again.

"Maybe you can apply for the General Studies? Or maybe the Support Course?"

Izuku shook his head, "I can't. I needed the Hero Course for more reasons than one. I-I've spent my entire life dreaming of taking this test and going to this school, of being a hero. A-And now it's all over."

Kyouka frowned, "It can't be. I mean, there has to be more factors to this test just blowing up damn robots. If that's really it, then this school is stupid. It's a test for _the Hero Course. _I, uh...Did you help anyone? That has to count for something, right?"

"I did help this one girl. She was about to be crushed by the Zero Pointer Bot because she was trapped under some rubble."

"What did you do?"

"I destroyed the robot."

"..." Kyouka used her pinkie to clean out her ears, and then wiped off her jacks, putting one near Izuku's mouth. "Would you repeat that please?"

"...I-I destroyed the Zero Pointer."

"The Zero Pointer? The battle robot the size of a God damn skyscraper?"

"Um...Y-Yeah."

"...How!?"

Izuku twiddled his thumbs and looked around nervously, "Well, m-my quirk is a body enhancer. I jumped into the air and p-punched it."

"...And you failed the test?"

"...I mean, it was worth zero points. And it was the only thing I destroyed."

Kyouka looked around baffled before turning back to Izuku. "Midoriya, dude...You destroyed a freaking Zero Pointer in one punch! Why would they not take you!?"

"Well, m-my quirk has a bad backlash. I-I can't control my strength yet. So whenever I use my quirk, it breaks my bones."

"Well it's still...Okay that is a pretty bad backlash. But still! This school is meant to teach us how to control our quirks to be heroes. If they don't take you, then they're not doing their jobs. You were willing to break yourself to help a girl. You deserve to be here more than anyone. Especially the blonde dick in my testing zone. He kept using his quirk to blow everything up. He didn't care who was caught in the explosion. He just ran around like a psycho the whole time."

A blonde dick that used explosions to blow stuff up and didn't care about anyone else. Clearly it was Katsuki.

And she just called him a blonde dick, and a psycho.

...Izuku knew then and there that Kyouka was destined to be his friend.

"I hope you're right."

"Trust me. You're getting in. I'm sure of it now."

"W-Well I hope I'm in your class."

"Me too." Kyouka's phone vibrated, and she went to where she threw it to pick it up. She read the text and turned to Izuku. "My parents are wondering where I am, and at this point I think Recovery Girl got lost. We should just bail."

"O-Oh. Yeah, okay." Izuku was saddened that his time with Kyouka had ended, possibly for good. He didn't know if he would see her again, but he knew a few things.

She was the first girl he had ever talked to.

She was his first friend, even if short lived.

She was the first person his age to treat him nicely in over a decade.

And he would never forget her.

The two grabbed their bags and left the building, making their way to the front gate. Izuku looked down the street and sighed. "I should go look for her, just in case she really did get lost."

"I'd come with, but I really do have to go."

Izuku nodded in understanding. "U-Uh, Jirou. I-I-...I just wanted to say thank you. For everything back there. It really does mean a lot to me, more than you know. I-I don't know if I'll get accepted, so I don't know if I'll see you again. But I-" Izuku's eyes widened as Kyouka suddenly shoved a piece of paper in his hands. "Wh-... What's this?"

"It's my number Mop-Head. Did you really think that after all of that I would just let you go? You found out that "A Thousand Miles" is on my playlist. I can't let you wander around unchecked." Izuku chuckled, but Kyouka's cold glare bored into him. "That wasn't a joke."

"...O-Oh."

"But, I also think you're a pretty cool guy Midoriya. And, I don't know. There's just something about you. And I need someone to hang out with while we agonizingly wait for the test results. I also need to broaden your musical taste.

"Like "A Thousand Miles"?"

"Shut up!" Izuku ducked under her jacks as they attacked him...and he was laughing.

He was being attacked, and he was laughing.

He wasn't scared, he wasn't crying, he wasn't being burned or punched.

It was playful and fun.

He could get used to that.

She eventually caught him and shook him with vibrations. "Don't make me regret giving you my number Midoriya."

"I only promise to try."

Kyouka chuckled, "I guess that's all I can ask of you. If I text you and ask to hang out this Saturday, would you come?"

"Jirou, you know I'd walk a thousand miles just to be with you."

"STOP!"

Izuku laughed backed away to not be hit. "That's the last time, I promise." Kyouka glared at him, and whipped around walking away. "Wh-Jirou I'm sorry!"

She kept walking.

"Jirou!"

And walking.

"...We can hang out at a karaoke place on Saturday and I have to sing all the songs you choose for me."

She stopped, turned around, and smirked. "4:30. The Songbird Karaoke Club. The one with the big blue sign. I hope you like boy bands."

And then, she was gone.

Izuku couldn't help but smile as she walked out of sight. Even if he didn't pass the exam, Kyouka made everything feel a whole lot better. And now, he finally had a friend.

...Who was a girl.

...Who he was hanging out with on Saturday.

... Alone.

...Just the two of them.

"...Holy crap is this a date!?"

**A/N**: I** couldn't help myself. This has been on my mind for weeks. Don't expect updates as frequently as "Thank You." I also want to expand upon "Fallen Right In" at some point. And yes, I know in the first chapter they say they got together at the Sports Festival. That will be the confession point. This is just the build up.**


	3. Best Friends? (Part 1)

"...Honey?"

"Hm?"

"You've been staring at that piece of paper for three hours and you're starting to scare me." Izuku shook from his stupor and gazed up at his mother from across the dinner table. "What's on it anyway?"

Izuku opened his mouth to speak, but looked back down at the scrap of paper with Kyouka's phone number and faltered. "...I don't think I should tell you."

"Wh-...What? Why not?"

"Because you're going to freak out and crush me in a hug when you think it's something bigger than it is."

Inko raised a brow and tilted her head. "I don't understa-…" Inko suddenly gasped loudly.

"Mom it's no-"

"Is it a phone number!?"

"Yes, but-"

"Is it a girl's phone number!?"

"...Yes."

The dinner table was instantly thrown against the wall and Izuku was lifted out of his seat, his ribs being crushed by his mother's arms. "MY BABY!"

"She's just a friend, Mom!"

"For now!" Izuku sighed and relented to his Mother. He went slack, accepting the hug. "What's her name?"

"Kyouka Jirou. I-I met her at U.A. We talked to each other in the nurse's office. It was...nice. Really nice."

"Oh Honey, I'm so happy." It had been over a decade since Inko had last seen or even heard of Izuku having any friends. If he did have any, she didn't know about them. Her soul hurt whenever she thought about it. And it made things worse whenever she thought about how it was his quirklessness that was likely culprit.

She had hoped the day would come where someone would look past his lack of powers and see what an amazing person Izuku truly was. And it was finally happening.

The fact that it was a girl made Inko's heart soar even higher.

Inko dropped him and looked at him expectantly. "...Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to call her?"

"Yeah." Izuku simply continued to look at his mother in confusion as she gazed at him as if waiting for something. "D-...Do you mean right now?"

"Of course I mean right now!"

Izuku pursed his lips and looked away from his mother. "I mean...I would, but... alone."

"Oh. Oh! Yes, I'll get out of your hair. Go ahead to your room, I'll clean up."

"I'll help."

Inko shook her head and lightly pushed her son towards the hallway. "Oh no, no Izuku. I'm perfectly capable of cleaning up dinner myself. You don't want to keep your girlfriend waiting."

Izuku was about to say, "She's not my girlfriend". But, he felt it was no use. He relented and entered his room, pulling out his phone as he sat down at his desk. He pulled out the piece of paper once more, and gazed at the parchment.

The day had come.

The day that he thought would never happen, happened.

He received a girl's phone number.

And it wasn't his mother. It was an actual pretty girl. After Kyouka had left, he had pinched himself multiple times to make sure he hadn't been dreaming. Izuku pulled out his phone and tapped "Add Contact".

With every new number typed in, his heartbeat went faster. Soon the entirety of the phone number was in, and the number was in his phone. The contact name "Kyouka Jirou" was glaring back at him, intimidating him to no end.

He had a feeling that Kyouka would enjoy the fact that he was scared... Actually, she probably was already enjoying it, because she likely knew."

…

**(Jirou Residence: Same Time)**

Kyouka played her bass guitar while staring at her phone with a smirk. A chuckle escaped her lips, "He's totally freaking out about it."

…

**(Midoriya Residence)**

The blinking vertical line in the message bar was taunting him. It should be simple. Just a plain "Hey" or "Hello" or "What's up" would do just fine. He had gotten so good at talking to her back at U.A. Where did that confidence go?

Maybe it was the fact that it was his first time talking to a girl on the phone. Or maybe it was because it could be the start of a whole new chapter of his life.

He shook his head and slapped his cheeks. _'What am I doing? I'm supposed to be trying to become a hero, and I get caught up on sending a text? _' Izuku picked up his phone, typed in his message, and pressed send.

**Midoriya: Hey Jirou**

**Jirou: Holy shit dude. It took you long enough.**

**Midoriya: Yeah. I'm sorry about that.**

**Jirou: Hey, it's cool. So what're doing?**

Izuku couldn't help but smile. Casual. It was all casual. His body already felt like it was back in the nurse's office. A nice, warm, and calming feeling spread throughout his body. The nervousness he had felt vanished with the imagining of Kyouka's calm, unamused, and smooth voice speaking the words of the text.

**Midoriya: Honestly, nothing.**

**Jirou: Me too. Well, except for sending you this.**

_*Ding* _

A picture of what Izuku assumed to be what Kyouka was doing now popped up. It was a picture of her in a large blue and white striped shirt and black leggings with a bass guitar in her lap. Her expression, once again, was a mix of absolute boredom and slight amusion.

...He had a girl's picture on his phone.

_'...Is that dirty?' _

**Jirou: You need a contact photo for me. **

Oh. So not dirty. Good.

**Jirou: Don't worry about yourself though. I got it covered.**

_*Ding* _

Izuku felt besmirched as he glared at the picture of broccoli Kyouka sent.

**Midoriya: You're a real comedian.**

**Jirou: Ha! I can tell you're gonna love me.**

Izuku was having a really hard time figuring out if Kyouka was actually laughing and smiling while texting, or if she was just slightly exhaling as a "laugh" while typing with her blank expression.

**Jirou: So are we still on for Saturday?**

**Midoriya: Oh yeah, we should. Unless my mom suddenly isn't up for it.**

**Jirou****: Any reason why she wouldn't?**

**Midoriya: Oh no. Definitely not. I'm going to have bruises on my ribs from how hard she hugged me when she found out about you.**

Telling someone that your mother was hugging you for making a friend...

_'...Oh crap, was that lame?' _

**Jirou: Ah, you have overbearing parents too. My dad never stops freaking singing like a maniac whenever something happens to me.**

Izuku sighed in relief as his comment was taken in stride. Kyouka surprised him time and time again. He had gone his entire life having social situations being a bit scary. He wanted to analyze and process every sentence, trying to think of the best response. Izuku had never really just...talked. At least not in a very long time. He could speak with his mother, but it was never like this.

Kyouka was unabashedly herself. And she not just allowed, but wanted Izuku to be himself. There was no keeping quiet, no closing in, no fighting just to get his words out. He had known Kyouka for less than 24 hours, and he somehow had never felt more free.

**Midoriya: My mom once cried so much we flooded the apartment downstairs. It's not even related to her quirk.**

**Jirou: My dad shattered all of our windows when I got an A on a test**

**Midoriya: So, you're all a musical family?**

**Jirou: My dad's a composer and my mom performs his work. I guess our quirks are kind of a giveaway.**

**Midoriya: What are their quirks?**

**Midoriya: Wait, let me get my notebook.**

**Jirou: Notebook? You really are a quirk nerd, aren't you?**

**Midoriya: So I've been told. I actually have 13 volumes**

**Jirou:...WTF dude. That's nuts.**

Izuku banged his head against the desk. _'Why did I say that!? Don't tell girls that you have notebooks full of personal information on people! Wait! That makes it sound creepy! Recover Izuku!' _

**Midoriya: It's weird, I know. It's just something I've always liked to do.**

**Jirou: Hey, I wasn't trying to judge or anything. It's actually pretty cool."**

...That was a first.

Someone actually thought his notebooks, the things he tried to hide and was made fun of for at school, were...cool?

**Midoriya: Really?**

**Jirou: Yeah. I mean, we're trying to be heroes right? We should know other heroes' and villains' quirks to know how to beat them and who we can work alongside. If you have 13 of those things, you'll already be way ahead of everyone else when we get to U.A. And yes, I said when. Not if.**

Izuku was then certain that he could never have found a better friend.

**Jirou: My parents are calling me down for dinner. I'd talk to you while I'm eating, but I'd much rather avoid being interrogated by my old man. I'll talk to you later BB.**

**Midoriya: BB?**

**Midoriya: No wait!**

**Jirou: Broccoli Boy**

Izuku facepalmed, frustrated that he fell for it. Yet, he was still laughing. Once again he was being called names, but he was still happy. Kyouka was contradicting his entire life.

**Jirou: And I win. GN BB.**

**Midoriya:...GN**

Izuku felt like he was floating as he walked to his bed and sat down. It was...different. That was for certain. He had never felt so open. It had been a long time since he had actually wanted nothing more than to speak to someone. Now that their conversation was done, he already felt like something was missing. His mind was just itching to send another text and keep the conversation going.

Saturday couldn't come any sooner.

…

**(4 Days Later)**

Saturday needs to take a raincheck.

Izuku had already changed shirts three times from sweating right through them. He had completely forgotten that he was going to be alone with Kyouka. It wasn't that he actually thought it was a date. He had figured that out nearly instantly after the question came to mind. Nor was the thought about going on a date with her turning him away. Kyouka was stunning in more ways than one, and he still had so much left to learn. But, there were some clear problems standing in the way.

For starters, he would never be so lucky as to not only get a date with someone as beautiful as Kyouka, but to earn it the same day he met her. Second, they hardly knew each other. Granted, dates were meant to learn more about one another. But, it led into the third reason. He was pretty sure he wasn't attractive.

In his mind, the word "plain" was a more than appropriate way to describe him. However, it was still nerve wracking. What if he screwed up? She was his only friend, and he had the possibility of losing her. "Izuku?" Said teenager turned to see Inko holding a laundry basket, looking at him questioningly from the hallway. Izuku stood in the bathroom looking into the mirror. "Are you okay? You've been running around frantically for hours. And this is the third shirt I've seen you in."

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. But, I do need a second opinion. Do I look alright?" He spread his arms out slightly, showing off his outfit. He stood in a dark green zip up hoodie with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, his "T-Shirt" t-shirt, black jeans, and his red shoes. Izuku had originally thought about wearing nicer clothes, but he remembered that the entire affair was supposed to be casual.

...Or at least he thought.

He had never really done that sort of thing.

"You look just fine to me. Are you going somewhere?"

Izuku froze. He realized that he had never actually told his mom that he was going to hang out with Kyouka. "W-Well, do you remember Jirou?"

The basket Inko was holding dropped to the floor. "It's a da-!"

"It's not a date."

Her shoulders slumped, "Way to let your mother down."

"We're just going to hang out. Nothing more. We hardly even know each other, Mom."

"So? I hardly knew your father before he and I decided to start seeing each other. Sometimes you just know. We knew, wanted to get to know each other better, twenty years later and here we are."

Izuku turned away and muttered under his breath. "Yeah, with one of you across the globe and the other raising your child alone."

"Hm?"

"Nothing. I should go. I don't want to be late." Izuku hugged his mother goodbye and left his apartment building. On his way down the stairs, he shook his head to clear his mind as he thought about what he had said back inside. "I wonder where that came from."

…

"Well that's new."

Kyouka looked to the right of her mirror to see her mother walk in the doorway. "What's new?"

Mika made her way over to Kyouka and looked at her daughter's reflection. "I can't remember the last time you wore lipstick."

Kyouka shrugged as she finished applying the black matte lipstick. "I don't know. Just thought I would try something different."

"And the eyeliner?"

"..."

"And the red nails?"

"..."

'...You're going out, aren't you?"

"It's not a-"

"It's not a date. I know."

Kyouka turned around to look at Mika with a raised brow. "You know?"

MIka gave a small smile and sat on the desk. "Kyouka, you're not that easy. Whoever it is, you're going to make them work for it."

Her daughter rolled her eyes and stood, making her way to her closet. "There's nothing to work for, Mom. We're just friends, and we only met a few days ago."

"Yes, but I don't think I've ever heard you laugh or text so much with a boy." Kyouka turned back to her mother, squinting her eyes. Mika's jacks wiggled around in the air. "I hear everything, remember."

"You also breach my privacy."

"I'm your mother."

"That's not an excuse."

"That's the excuse most parents use." Kyouka shook her head as she entered her walk-in closet. "Is he cute?"

"Ye-. I-. That's not the point!"

"Then elaborate for me."

She could hear Kyouka sigh from inside her closet and respond. "We're both trying to be heroes. A relationship won't clash well with that." That wasn't all of the reasons why. But, Kyouka really wasn't in the mood to discuss her insecurities at the moment.

Or ever.

"I'm sure you two would be just fine. Besides, you're a teenager Kyouka. If you really like this boy, then you shouldn't hold back."

Kyouka stepped out of the closet, and gave her mother an unamused look. "Who ever said I had feelings for him?"

Mika gave her daughter a once over. "Asks the one going to meet him in that."

Kyouka was wearing a violet off shoulder "The Clash" t-shirt with a black tank top underneath, skinny black faux leather pencil pants, silver spiked bracelets, a studded belt, and combat boots. "What's wrong with this?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't let me stop you. He'll love it. Just don't bend down in front of him. Or do. It just depends on how fast you want your relationship to go." Kyouka bared her teeth and brandished her jacks, but her mother just smirked. "Ooh, scary. Now go or you'll be late."

…

What...on Earth...was...Izuku...thinking?

_'Karaoke!? Why did I suggest that!? I can't sing!' _Izuku paced in front of "The Songbird Karaoke Club" waiting for Kyouka. Not only did he agree to sing, but he told Kyouka that she was allowed to pick his songs. He didn't even put a limit on it! She picked his songs the entire night!

He was done for.

"Ooh someone's nervous I see." Izuku whipped around at Kyouka's voice suddenly behind him. The moment his eyes landed on her, the sensation of a Detroit Smash hit his heart. Ultimately stopping the organ for a few seconds. "You ready to work your vocal chords?"

"...Y-...Y-Yo-...You-..."

"Wow. I didn't think you were _that _nervous. Did you break?"

"...You look breathtaking."

Kyouka's cheeks reddened as her mouth went slightly agape. "I, uh...Thank you. You ain't looking too bad yourself, Mop Top." Kyouka chuckled, "Nice t-shirt."

"O-Oh, thanks. I thought it was kinda funny."

Kyouka also thought it was a funny shirt, but she decidedly left out the part where she thought it was a nice shirt because it was form fitting to his pecs. "Now come on. It's time to watch you humiliate yourself."

Izuku merely sighed and followed Kyouka into the building. Once they made it into their private room, the microphone was immediately shoved into Izuku's hands. Kyouka sat down on the couch and began scrolling through albums and songs with a devious smile on her face.

"U-Uh do we have to start now? I-I mean we could order some food first o-or-"

"You can't stall Celery Stick."

"Are your only names for me vegetables?"

"Yep." Izuku watched as her eyes suddenly lit up, clearly finding her song choice. "Hey Midoriya, you ever hear of BTS?"

"I don't speak Korean!"

"Ugh, fine. You've saved yourself for now. Hm...Ohoho! How about this?"

The screen in front of Izuku suddenly changed, displaying the title of the song.

_"Now Playing: I Want It That Way - Backstreet Boys" _

"Jirou, I'm begging you."

"Hey, I'm letting you off easy. This song is catchy as hell." The sound of the airplane starting the video began to play, Izuku's heart fell in his chest. He looked back to Kyouka, her eyes still bored. But, her smile was devilish. "Now sing."

Izuku opened his mouth, took in a breath, and began.

…

Humiliation.

Utter. Humiliation.

And Kyouka wasn't making him feel any better.

"Hahahahahahahaha! Hahahahaha! Holy shit dude hahahaha!" Izuku slumped against the couch as Kyouka proceeded to continue laughing at him.

"Was it really that bad?"

Kyouka managed to calm herself down, and looked over to him. "No! Hmhmhm. Ahem. No, it wasn't that bad. Honestly, with some lessons you could be pretty good. But...that voice crack, pffft hahahahaha!"

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck as he remembered what had happened. During the outroduction, Izuku made it to a very long "I want it that way."

Aaaand he may or may not have voice cracked and sounded like, as Kyouka put it, "A goose that was crossbred with Cthulhu that honked while being throat chopped."

So, yeah not a perfect performance.

"Well, now you can prove how much better you are at it than me."

Kyouka's laughter immediately halted at his words. "O-...Oh. Nah, I'm good."

Izuku lifted a brow in confusion. "What?"

"I-I'm not all that good. I really just sing to myself." Kyouka never sang in front of anyone. At least, not to any friends. She sang for her parents when she was little and stuff, but she soon made it a private affair. If her mother wasn't listening that is. If she wasn't willing to sing in front of them, then she wouldn't sing in front of someone she just met.

It's not like anyone was interested anyway.

"You come from a family of musicians. I'm sure you're incredible. And, well, we're at a karaoke club. Isn't it kind of mandatory?"

...But, most people Kyouka just met weren't cute and optimistic as hell.

"I-I don't know, Dude."

"I don't want to push you if you really don't want to. But, I really want to hear you sing."

Kyouka crossed her arms and looked at her lap. "...You really want to hear me sing?"

"Yeah. If you'll allow me to listen."

Kyouka pursed her lips as she mulled it over. She knew Izuku wouldn't judge her. From the small time they knew each other, it was obvious that Izuku was one pure hearted bastard. And there was just something different about Izuku. He was...soothing. Maybe his own constant anxious attitude overpowered and canceled out her own anxieties. He was like a puppy, just anxious to see new things. She just couldn't resist.

It...wouldn't be that bad, right?

"...Okay." Kyouka hopped up from the sofa and made her way to the front of the room, grabbing the mic. "Pick something for me Christmas Tree, and it better be good."

Izuku widened his eyes and began scrambling with the touchpad. "Oh! O-Okay. Uh...Here. It's not Punk-Rock, but I think it's really good."

_"Now Playing: Songbird by Fleetwood Mac" _

The first few notes of piano began to play, and Kyouka gave a small smile at the song choice. "Not bad Midoriya. Not bad at all." Slowly the piano continued on, the bubble of nervousness in Kyouka's body began to quell as Izuku gave her a confident smile. She breathed in, and began.

_"For you, there'll be no more crying." _

**_*BANG*_**

One line. One line was all it took for her voice to slam into Izuku's body, and send vibrations everywhere. A cold chill shook up his spine as goosebumps sprouted across his body. The soundwaves of her voice flowed into his ears and wrapped around his eardrums.

_"For you, the sun will be shining. And I feel that when I'm with you. It's alright, I know it's right. To you, I'll give the world. To you, I'll never be cold. 'Cause I feel that when I'm with you." _

Her voice was smooth and low, but raised to beautiful highs and falsettos. Her vibrato flared in and out, and her range simply expanded with little effort.

"_ It's alright, I know it's right. And the songbirds are singing. Like they know the score. And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before." _

The world around him turned dark. The only thing visible was Kyouka. He could see her throat muscles move with every lyric. Her lips moved and contorted with every word, and her eyes closed as she further delved into the rhythm.

_"And I wish you all the love in the world. But most of all, I wish it from myself _. _And the songbirds keep singing, Like they know the score." _

Her eyes suddenly opened up, and she looked at Izuku as she sang the final lines.

_"And I love you, I love you, I love you, _

_Like never before, like never before." _

The song faded out, and Kyouka placed the microphone back on its stand. She walked back to the couch and sat down. "So...How'd I do?" She looked over to Izuku to see him still staring at where she just was at the front of the room. "Uh...Dude?" Izuku still simply sat there looking dumbstruck at the wall. Kyouka pursed her lips and leaned over to Izuku. She used one hand to cup under his chin and squish his cheeks together, making it look like he was speaking. "_ Oh Kyouka, you did such an amazing job. _Thanks Midoriya, I try."

"Amazing doesn't even begin to cover it." Kyouka raised her eyebrows in shock and retracted her hand. Izuku turned to her with a look of sheer awe. "I...I don't...You're the best singer I've ever heard."

"No I'm not. C'mon Dude, I-"

"No. Kyouka...You are the best singer I have ever heard in my entire life. No one even comes close."

Kyouka blushed and looked away. "...Thanks Midoriya." It was the second time that he had doused her in compliments causing her to blush. Kyouka had a strange suspicion he wasn't even trying. He was just naturally flattering.

"I-I guess it's my turn."

* _Grrroowwll__* _

He halted standing up as his stomach rumbled loudly. Kyouka chuckled, "Or we could get something in our stomachs." Soon, their food was ordered and the two sat back and relaxed. It became evident quickly that it was unlikely that anymore songs were going to be sung. Even after their meals were eaten, the two continued to just talk to each other. Both too wrapped up in the other to really care about what the purpose of a karaoke club was. "Holy shit Dude!"

"I know."

"That's...Oh my God."

"I told you I practiced." Izuku was looking to his left at Kyouka with his All Might face brandished.

"H-...How!? How is that even possible!?"

Izuku shrugged as his face went back to normal, "I just kind of do it."

"You must be great at parties."

Izuku lifted a brow, "You think I go to parties?"

"I wouldn't know what someone who goes to parties looks like 'cause I don't go to them either." Both chuckled at the remark as Kyouka crossed her legs on the couch. She picked up her drink and asked before she took a drink, "I mean, what about your friends? Do they know you can do that?"

Izuku faltered for a second, looking down to his lap. "Ah...No."

"What!? No? Why wouldn't you show that off to everyone? It's awesome."

"U-Uh...I don't know. I just d-don't think they would like it all that much."

Kyouka looked confused, "What? Are they not All Might fans?"

For a second, Izuku was about to go along with it. He was about to lie. But, for once in his life he had a friend. A real one. At that point, Kacchan didn't count. Friends were supposed to trust one another. They were supposed to tell each other things that they wouldn't tell anyone else. That kind of relationship shouldn't have a lie be placed at the foundation. If Kyouka was truly meant to be his friend, then he should tell her.

"It's not All Might. They aren't really fans...of me."

"...Hm?"

Izuku steeled himself and continued. "I...I don't...I-I don't really have any friends." He looked into Kyouka's eyes as she processed the information. He half expected to get pitied, or for her to try and find out why people didn't like him so that she could judge if she still wanted to be around.

"That's not true."

Izuku's face scrunched up in confusion, "What?"

"You got me." Kyouka picked up Izuku's glass and handed it to him. "And I don't really have friends either. I mean, I have people I talk to at school. But, I don't really hang out with them outside of school or text them of anything. But, with you I went out to a freaking karaoke club, and I've known you for barely three days. In fact, you're the first person I've sang in front of besides my parents. You, Izuku Midoriya, are my friend."

"Really?"

"No." Izuku's heart immediately shattered. Kyouka raised her glass for him to connect with hers. "Best friends."

"That's pretty fast isn't it?"

"If we're our only friends, then by default we are best friends."

Izuku's heart reformed, and he sheepishly raised his glass to Kyouka's. "Best friends."

_*Clink* _

The two smiled at one another as they took a sip of their respective drinks. Izuku's high of happiness was suddenly dampened by the smirk Kyouka grew around the rim of her glass.

"...What?" She put her drink down and pulled Izuku to his feet, dragging him out of the room. "Where are we going!?"

"Wherever we want. Who said we had to stay in one place all night?" The two paid and made their way outside, Kyouka dragging Izuku along by the hand.

Kyouka liked the new feeling inside of her. She was usually never so excitable. But, as she looked back at Izuku's face full of excitement and uncertainty she knew it was a good thing.

The two stopped in the center of the city. Crowds of people walked all around as giant video billboards lit up the vibrant streets. "Okay, where do you want to go BB?"

"I-I don't know. I thought you knew where you were going."

"Nope." The two continued their trek across the square, looking around at the different people and mutants and sights.

"I've never actually been around here. At least, not more than a couple times. I don't know what's around here."

"Me neither." The two looked at one another and pursed their lips. "We both need to get out more."

"W-Well, now we both have friends to go out with." Kyouka smiled up at him, but something behind him caught her eye. Izuku followed her line of sight to see one of the giant billboards playing a video of a model showing off a dress.

Kyouka scoffed, "Can you imagine doing stuff like that? Flaunting around, just showing off your ego saying "Hey I'm prettier than you"."

Izuku shrugged, "I don't know about ego. You could be a model."

"...Excuse me?"

"I mean, you wouldn't have to wear a bunch of make-up or anything like they do. But, you could easily be one."

Kyouka looked at Izuku dumbfounded. Did he just say she was pretty enough to be a model? Actually, he basically said she was prettier than models. The strangest part was Izuku seemed to not even realize what he had done. His tone and expression conveyed that he truly believed what he said to be common knowledge.

She pulled out her phone and went into self portrait mode on her camera, and only one thought came to mind.

_'What the hell does he see?' _

"I'm sure there are a lot of modeling jobs for showing off punk outfits and stuff."

Kyouka shook her head and scoffed, "And I'm sure they're also looking for male models who are hero nerds."

"I-I...Me? Modeling?"

"Dude, I can't even wrap my hand halfway around your forearm alone. Your buff as he-" Kyouka looked down at his arm, and realized that they had never stopped holding hands. Her eyes widened and she was about to pull away.

_"...You look breathtaking." _

_"Kyouka...You are the best singer I have ever heard in my entire life." _

_"If you really like this boy, then you shouldn't hold back." _

Well...Izuku didn't seem to notice or care. And all best friends had their own thing...she thought. So, maybe holding hands could be their thing. Not that she was saying her mother's words meant anything.

Buuut it was really nice.

It's not like it really meant anything.

...Right? 


	4. Best Friends? (Part 2)

_'Her holding my hand doesn't mean anything, right?' _

Izuku's hand and Kyouka's hand had been clasped together for nearly half an hour as the two roamed through the shopping district of the city. The two teens were just outside the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, and Izuku's mind was running a mile a minute.

His hand felt like it was burning up...but oddly in a good way. A really good way. Should he say something? Was it a friend thing? If so, friends held hands?

He hadn't had a friend in...Well, basically ever. So he had no idea what to think.

He looked down at Kyouka and saw a perfect smile adorning her face, and she seemed well aware of the predicament their hands were in. During their window shopping she would pull him in that direction or even use their joined hands to motion at something. There was no way that she wasn't aware.

So, she seemed fine with it.

And Izuku wasn't complaining either.

Well, he would rather his heart not be beating faster than All Might on ten energy drinks. But he mentally made the compromise that being able to hold the hand of a gorgeous young woman outweighed the chances of a possible heart attack.

Hmm...it seemed that every time he thought about Kyouka, he had to put some sort of complimentary adjective in front of her.

Eh, it was probably nothing.

...Okay, it was definitely something and he knew what it was. Or, at least he knew what it was likely leading to. However, he decidedly ignored it for the time being. It would be better that way.

He just hoped his hands weren't sweaty.

…

_'Boy, his hands sure are sweaty.' _

The two teens entered the mall and gazed around at the pure vastness of it. Shopping malls such as Kiyashi were a dying brand in the Pre-Quirk Age. But, the sudden need for custom made clothing, accessories, household items, and more due to body changing quirks, the need for special stores and companies to make such things skyrocketed.

For instance, they passed a clothing store with items specifically for people with horns, talons, or other sharp body parts. And with that only being one of the thousands and thousands of possibilities of quirks...Well, that meant the mall was pretty damn big.

"What exactly do we do?" Izuku asked.

Kyouka lifted a brow at him, "Do you not know what a mall is?"

"I-. Yes, I know what a mall is. I just meant this place is huge. Where do we start?"

"I...don't know. I've only been here once or twice. You?"

"Never."

The girl turned to her companion in shock, "Seriously? Not even once?"

Izuku shrugged, "No friends, remember?"

"Is that gonna be your excuse for every social activity you haven't done?"

"Is it a bad one?"

"Nah, nah I'm just asking. Oh, hold on." Izuku was stopped and shifted as Kyouka pulled him by the hand to the left. Once he was stopped he realized that they were in a music shop. Guitars and basses lined the walls, and keyboards, brass instruments, and woodwinds all were sectioned off in their own areas. Drum sets, albums, musical notebooks, cords, and more were everywhere across the store covered wall to wall with band posters.

They walked across the checkered floor and made it to the rows of vinyl records. Even when she was browsing through records, she only used one hand and kept her other in Izuku's. "This is the perfect opportunity to broaden your musical horizon."

"B-But, I don't have a record player."

"I don't actually mean to buy these. I'm just trying to give suggestions." Izuku looked around at the records and used his free hand to browse. He was about to pick up a record with the band name "Smash Mou-"

_*Smack* _

Kyouka hit his hand immediately. "No!"

"Wh-"

"Just, no!"

Izuku raised his free hand in surrender, and went back to looking. He pointed to a "Nickelback" album an-

_*Smack* _

"Oh my God, Dude! Jus-...I-...I'll just send you links or something, because you're terrible at this."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head and blushed, "S-Sorry."

Kyouka let out a sigh and dragged him along, muttering under her breath. "You're lucky you're cute."

"W-...What?"

"Nothing. Just c'mon." As Kyouka took the two towards the back of the store, Izuku really hoped his ears didn't play tricks on him. But, he wasn't going to get his hopes up anytime soon. Kyouka stopped them in front of all of the instruments. She began looking over them all in thought.

"Uh...Wh-What are you doing?"

Kyouka shrugged, "Well, I've been thinking. Now that we're best friends and all, we need an excuse to hang out more."

"...We need excuses to do that?"

"Do you wanna see more of me or not?"

"Continue."

Kyouka chuckled, "I'm kidding. What I meant was, I think we should have things that are our things. Like, specific things and hobbies that we do together. I was wondering if I could teach you how to play something. I'm just not particularly sure which instrument fits you."

Izuku pursed his lips and nodded, "I've never actually thought about playing an instrument before. But, I can't say I'm not interested."

"Cool. Now we just need to figure out which instrument suits you the best and that I can teach you."

"Which ones do you know how to play?"

Kyouka began looking around, "Uhmm...Guitar, bass, bass guitar, piano, drums, flute, trumpet, saxophone, keytar, clarinet-"

"Okay! Is there anything you DON'T play?"

"Hmm...Piccolo?"

"I-"

"Oh, wait. No, I know how to play that."

Izuku squinted in confusion, "Really?"

"Eh, I was like seven and I immediately jumped on it when I realized it was the same name as the DBZ character."

Izuku froze, "You...watch anime?"

Kyouka froze as well, "Uh...Y-Yeah." She shifted her eyes away for a moment. It wasn't something that was really all that embarrassing. It was just a closeted interest...Kind of like most of her interests.

Sharing about the things she loved wasn't something she really did. Why would anyone care? Who would be interested in what she liked? She wasn't ashamed of what she liked or anything. There was just this lock and key around her heart, keeping everything for herself.

Her key was the only one in existence.

It was one of the reasons why she never had or even attempted to have friends outside of school. She never felt connected to them. There was no real deep want to be with them or get to know them any better. It just seemed like her interests didn't align with anyone else. So, Kyouka locked her doors, keeping everything to herself. Eventually, it led to sharing being such an uncommon thing that when she did do it, it felt embarrassing. It was private information.

Yet, here she was blabbing to Midoriya that she was into cartoons.

"Is there any possible way you could get any more awesome?"

...Hold on.

"Come again, Cabbage Patch?"

"I loved DBZ when I was a kid. Still do. I love a bunch of Shonen."

"Oh...Me too. I-I don't really talk about it much. Just wasn't something I figured anyone else would be interested in."

"That's something else we could do! We can start watching something together." Even if Kyouka didn't want to, she never would have been able to resist. The second his eyes lit up in excitement, the decision was already made.

"Sounds great. Just, anything but One Piece because-"

"It's way too long with 90% of it being filler?"

"You see? This is why we're best friends."

Kyouka gazed at Izuku's smile, his bright eyes, his desire, _real desire _to spend time with her and connect with her.

She needed to make a copy of that key.

"Before we get too ahead of ourselves Mop-Top, we still have this matter to deal with." Kyouka walked them up to the guitars on the wall. "Now, a guitar can be soft and acoustic. And it can also be hardcore when it's electric. Just like you. You're soft, but can be hard-hittin. Guitars can also break strings like how you break your arms. However…"

Kyouka walked them over to a piano, "A piano can also be soft and hardcore depending on how you play it. It's rare, but it's strings can break. But it's also fairly complicated. Not to downplay the complications of a guitar, but a piano is a whole different beast."

"So, what do I choose?"

"...Both."

"... You're kidding, right?"

"Does it look like I'm kidding, Parsley?"

Izuku tried to read Kyouka's standard bored look. "...It's very hard to tell with you."

Kyouka chuckled, "Look, you seem like someone who likes to challenge himself. So, why not?" Kyouka was going to leave out the part where learning two instruments at once would require Izuku to need a lot of help, which meant spending more time together.

"I don't think I can afford both a piano and a guitar."

"Technically two guitars, electric and acoustic. But, you're not buying them. You can use mine. We have a month until U.A officially starts. I'll have you at the basics of both by then."

"Where will we practice?"

"Well, unless you want to move a piano to your house it'll be at my place."

Izuku nodded dumbly with wide eyes, "And the room your instruments are located are…?"

Kyouka looked at him with amused confusion, "My room."

"Right, I thought so. Excuse me for a moment." For the first time since they had left the karaoke club, their hands slipped apart as Izuku walked away to crouch down out of sight behind a large stereo, and contemplate his life as he was soon to be entering a girl's room. Kyouka looked down at her hand and grimaced. It felt...off. Granted, it could've been the sweat from Izuku's hand, but she felt that wasn't it. Mostly because the feeling was beginning to spread throughout her entire body. Izuku suddenly reappeared. "Okay, I-I'm back."

"What the hell was that about?"

"N-Nothing. Just rejoicing at the death of my previous life predictions."

"...What?"

"Is there anything else here you want to look at?" Izuku asked, diverting away from the topic.

Kyouka shook her head, "No, I'm good. Let's find somewhere else BB." The two walked out of the store and continued their way through the mall. Somewhere along their exit, their hands unconsciously found their way back to one another intertwining. Immediately, the uncomfortable feeling Kyouka had vanished and her body felt like it was back to normal.

...Oh that wasn't good.

_'I'm falling hard and fast without a parachute, aren't I?' _She shook her head, _'No. Kyouka, you're better than that. You only fall when you want to.' _She looked up at Izuku to see him looking around at other shops and people passing by with different quirks and such. He caught her eyes and gave a warm smile. A strange, warm sensation spread from Kyouka's chest to the rest of her body. _'...God-damn it.' _

"Where should we go next?" Izuku said, catching Kyouka's attention once more.

"I chose last time. You go ahead and pick."

Izuku brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Hmm...Does the mall have a place that sells figurines?"

"Oooh, doll collection? I'm afraid this friendship has ended." Kyouka watched fear flash through Izuku's eyes for a split second, but he caught the smirk on her face.

"That's not funny."

"Hehehe, it is to me. C'mon, let's read the mall map." The teens walked up to the holographic projection of a top-down overview of the building. As they read the names of the stores, a few voices came up behind them.

"Are you sure it's here, Dude?"

"Don't fucking doubt me, Extra. I didn't ask you to come along."

Izuku's eyes widened and his body quickly reacted on instinct. He pulled up his hood and kept his head down. Kyouka looked at him confused, "What are you doing, Midoriy-?"

"Shh! Don't say my name."

Directly next to the couple, Katsuki Bakugou himself and his two goons for lack of a better word, began reading the mall map. "So, which store is it Bakugou?" asked the blonde haired one on the right. Also known as Naides Yubi.

"I'm fucking looking you moron."

Rokuro Kubi walked up to the other side of Bakugou, and was the closest to Izuku. The green-haired teen couldn't help but feel relieved that it was Kubi who was the nearest to him. Out of the three, Izuku knew that Rubi wasn't the most...to keep from insulting him, Izuku stuck with "perceptive".

"Yo, Bakugou. Did Deku actually show up to the entrance exam?"

Bakugou scoffed, "Of course he did. That worthless fucking nerd has always been delusional." Kyouka peeked past Izuku to see the "Blonde Dick" from her entrance exam. Who was Deku? Did Izuku know that guy?

Yubi shook his head, "Midoriya just never learns, does he? Doesn't matter what we did to him."

Kyouka's eyes widened, _'...Deku is Midoriya? And, what did he mean by 'did to him'?' _

Katsuki scoffed, "Whatever. I'm tired of talking about that quirkless welp. I found the store. Let's go." The trio made their way off further into the mall, leaving the two teens alone at the display. Neither said a single word as they stood, not knowing what to say to the other.

Kyouka looked over Izuku, and carefully thought about how to approach the situation. "Midoriya...When you said that people weren't fans of you...What exactly did you mean?"

Izuku slowly pulled his hood down, and kept his eyes from looking directly into Kyouka's. "H-He's probably going to the same store as we were going to go to. I-I'd rather not deal with him r-right now. Can we go?" Izuku tried to walk away, but a firm grip on his hand kept him in place.

"We can go. But, you're not distancing yourself. I'm your best friend, remember? Don't be a dipshit."

"...How was that the most heartfelt yet crass comforting I've ever been given?"

"Just c'mon." Kyouka led him outside of the mall and back onto the sidewalks. The day had been going spectacularly, and she wasn't going to let some bleach blonde douchebag ruin it.

As they walked, eventually the streets became less crowded and Izuku thought it was about time he spoke up.

"I-"

"Not yet." Izuku furrowed his brow puzzled, but kept quiet for the time being. He waited until Kyouka had sat them down at a bench in the train station, waiting for a ride.

"...I-"

"Still not yet, Dill Weed." Izuku was growing suspicious that Kyouka was looking up different green herbs whenever he wasn't looking. Soon enough, a train arrived and the two stepped on.

"...Not yet?"

"Not yet." After only a 10 minute train ride, the two exited the station and were back out on the streets. Soon they stood outside of a modern house fit for a decently well off family. He was dragged inside and was immediately taken towards the stairs.

"Kyouka I need to take off my shoes!?"

"Who cares?"

"But I-"

"Kyouka?" Both teens, already halfway up the staircase, turned to see the two elder Jirou's sitting at their dinner table from across the living room.

Kyouka turned to Izuku and whispered, "Just slowly move up the stairs, and act like they can't see you."

Kyotoku jumped up from his chair and pointed at Izuku, "Mika! A boy!"

"Run." Kyouka yanked Izuku up the stairs and out of sight.

The father swerved around the table and made his way towards the stairs. "Now hold on! Who is this!? What are you doing with my dau-!"

"Kyo." The sound of his nickname made him stop and turn to his wife. "Just let them be. He can introduce himself when they're done."

"When they're done!?"

"Not like that. She met that boy at her entrance exam. This is Kyouka we're talking about. When was the last time our daughter had anyone over? And with how she's been acting the last few days, he must be something special."

"He was holding her hand! And-... He's... He's-!"

"A boy? I'm well aware. You can act big and tough on him later. Just leave them be."

Kyotoku opened his mouth to argue, but after living 15 years in a house with two "Won't take any shit" women, he knew that if they both were against him on something he had already lost.

"Grrgh, fine. But I'm using the voice."

...

"Sh-Shouldn't I say something? I'm kind of intruding."

"It's fine, Dude. This is more important." She opened up the door to her room and led Izuku in. If Izuku thought his room was for hero nerds, then Kyouka's was the equivalent for musicians. The fairly large room consisted of a red and black checkered floor along with deep purple walls that were mostly covered in soundproof padding, a bed with the blankets matching the walls and a television in front of it, band posters everywhere, a desk, make-up table, a book/DVD shelf, and a whole lot of instruments.

The essentials for a band were all located in the back corner of her room. A drum set, guitars, basses, a keyboard, and Izuku didn't even want to think about how many more instruments were likely in her closet. The front corner of her room sat a Roland RD-700NX Piano that was completely covered in sticky notes with what Izuku assumed were lyric ideas.

Izuku was so much in awe over it all, that he didn't even freak out over being in a girl's room.

His eyes widened.

Oh, wait. He remembered.

"A-Ah I shouldn't be here. This is your room."

Kyouka gazed at him confused, "So? Just get over here and sit." She put him down at the piano stool and sat next to him.

"What are we doing here?"

"Starting your music lessons." Now it was Izuku's turn to be confused. Did Kyouka completely forget about what happened at the mall? Was she ignoring it? Did she not care?

"Of course I care, Seaweed."

Damn his muttering.

"Well... Aren't you going to ask me about it?"

Kyouka shrugged, "It's something you clearly don't like talking about. And to be perfectly honest, after what they said it's not that hard to figure it out. Bullies are pieces of shit. But, I'm not someone who likes my business being poked into. So, I'm not going to do that to you. And, best friends or not, we still haven't known each other that long. You don't just blab that stuff to strangers."

"We're not strangers."

"Not anymore, but we only crossed that threshold recently."

Izuku couldn't argue that. No matter how attached he was, it was a very fresh attachment. "S-Sorry. I've never had friends, so I've also never had a confidant before. Sharing that sort of stuff has never been in my coding."

"And I'm not going to push you to say anything."

"Well, then why are we here?"

Kyouka twirled her jacks around her finger as she responded. "For starters you wanted to get outta there, and this was the only place I could think of. Two, I wasn't just gonna let you go home like that. You're not losing me that easy, especially when you'd probably freak out the rest of the night over it, correct?"

"...Yeah, I would've."

"And finally, music is always what calms me down. Why not you?"

Izuku couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Thanks Kyouka, but...I don't wanna start off my first real friendship on lack of communication and not sharing."

"Hey, it's alright. Really, it is."

"You told me something about yourself in the music store that you didn't tell anyone else. It's only fair."

"Telling someone that you're into anime is a lot different from this."

Izuku shrugged, "Maybe. But, it's just as important to me."

Kyouka shook her head, "Why?"

"...Well...because, _you're _important to me." Izuku rubbed the back of his head as Kyouka turned to him. "I-I know that, like you said, we haven't known each other long. And, I know this sounds clingy and weird and I'm sorry, but…" Izuku averted his eyes and began playing at random keys on the piano as a blush spread on his face. "... Besides my mom you're all I have, honestly."

"...What about your dad?"

"He lives in America and sends us money. I-I know it's his job and it's not his fault, but I can't even remember the last time I saw him or even spoke to him on the phone. He tries his best and I don't hate him or anything. I mean, he's my dad. It would be different if I had no dad at all. But, growing up and knowing you have a dad but you never get to see him just changes it all. The image that comes to my mind when I think of my dad is an envelope with his name on it. And with my mom, I've always had a sort of...small personal disconnect with her. I mean I love her, don't get me wrong. But something happened when I was a kid that made it hard to share personal stuff with her. That's a completely different story though. And the only person I ever thought was my friend hates my very existence. So, Kyouka sometimes it really does feel like you're all I have."

Izuku took a deep breath as his air ran out near the end of his short speech. He turned to Kyouka to see her eyes wide. "S-Sorry. My brain goes off sometimes and I can't stop talking."

Kyouka blew a raspberry and put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "That's...definitely a lot to take in. I can't exactly say I fully understand how it feels. Hell, I highly doubt most people could with how unique your situation is."

Izuku thought about his life from birth, to quirklessness, to meeting All Might, to eating a hair, to being able to blow up skyscrapers with his fist, and chuckled. "Hehe. You have no idea."

"I can say this though. I might not be much, but if I'm all you got then I'll be everything you need."

"That's a big promise to make to a stranger."

"Not strangers, remember?"

A small smile graced Izuku's face. "Then the same goes to me for you."

"You are one sappy nerd."

"A-Ah, well I-"

Kyouka nudged his side, "Don't take it seriously. Sappy is good. You contrast with my calm and cool personality."

"Did you really just call yourself calm and cool?"

"I am though."

"Yeah, but no one actually says it about themselves."

"It's called honesty, Green Bean. I thought that's what this whole talk was about?" Izuku put his hands up in defeat over the joking argument, his smile growing. Kyouka always managed to do that somehow. "And speaking of honesty…"

_'Oh no.' _

"If you really want me to know and to share these things with me, I have one question. Only one."

Izuku didn't need to hear what she was going to ask. He already knew what it was going to be about. "You want to know why Kacchan called me quirkless."

Kyouka nodded, "That was definitely a stand out point in the crap coming out of their mouths. And which one was Kacchan? I thought the Bakugou kid called you that."

"Kacchan is what I've called him since we were really little. He was the one I was talking about when I said the only friend I once thought I had hates me. Once he figured out I was quirkless and he got his quirk, he changed."

Izuku was relieved, yet frustrated. He was relieved because he didn't have to make up a story on the fly. He and All Might had already created a backstory that was as believable as they could make it. Which was admittedly hard when no one on the face of the planet suddenly got a quirk at 15. But, it was good enough as long as they didn't tell it to a quirk geneticist.

But, he was frustrated because he had just said he didn't want his first friendship to start out on lies. He didn't have a choice, however. He couldn't tell her about One For All. At least, not now. All Might did tell him that if he truly couldn't help it or if the situation required it, he could tell someone he absolutely 100% trusted.

But, it was pretty heavily implied that All Might was talking about telling Inko as he understood it would be difficult to not tell his mother about it. And, Izuku also knew that his mentor would be pretty mad if he suddenly spilled the beans to a girl he had known for 5 and a half days.

One For All would have to be Izuku's compromise. His only solace was that a good portion of the story was actually true, but parts were shifted.

"When I was 4, I was diagnosed as quirkless. I showed no sign of either of my parents quirks, or a quirk in general."

Kyouka grimaced, "And I'm assuming that it immediately put a target on your back?"

Izuku nodded and continued. "That's why they called me Deku at the mall. It was the nickname Kacchan gave me. It means 'Useless'."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, but as it turned out, my quirk didn't awaken because it wouldn't show until I was physically able to handle its power without dying. That's why I break my bones whenever I use it. My body is only just barely able to use it."

Kyouka couldn't imagine her jacks being dangerous to her. It would definitely suck. Buuuut she couldn't help but thank Izuku's quirk for being so strong, because it was what led to Izuku being as chiseled as he was.

At least, she assumed. She had only seen his arms, but she had to imagine the rest was just as good-looking.

...Not that she imagined him shirtless or anything.

"Damn. Is there any way to stop breaking your bones?"

"Oh yeah! Don't worry about that. The more I train and get used to small percentages of my quirk, I'll be able to use more and more of it over time."

"Don't worry about it? Dude, you break your damn arms whenever you use your quirk. And you're going to the hero course where we use quirks all the time! How can I not worry about it!?" Izuku couldn't help but smile at her concern. It was nice to know that now someone else cared about him. "Although, I do want to know something else. Breaks your bones or not, if I learned that I picked on a kid that had the strength to eradicate a skyscraper sized battle robot in a single punch, I'd piss my pants. Those guys actually still have the balls to call you stuff like that?"

Izuku rubbed his arm awkwardly, "Actually, they d-don't know I'm not quirkless."

"Really? Did you just not tell them when they went after you again, or try to show something off prove it in any way. Granted, it would be super painful. But, they'd know. When did you figure out you had a quirk?"

"...When I punched the robot."

Kyouka froze in her seat, "Are you freaking kidding me?" Izuku shook his head with a sheepish look.

_*Jab* _

"Ow! What was that for?!" Kyouka had just stuck Izuku in the side with one of her jacks.

"Are you stupid!? Why would you try to fight giant robots without any powers!?"

"I-If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know there would be robots."

"It really doesn't."

Izuku rubbed the spot where he was jabbed, and looked down at his lap. "I-I don't know. I guess I was just tired of being useless. If I could get into U.A. then I could prove everyone wrong and that I wasn't Deku."

Kyouka immediately felt a hit of regret to her gut. She shouldn't have said that. How many times had people probably told him that he couldn't be a hero? It wasn't that she thought it was _impossible _, but it would definitely be really, REALLY hard.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not saying it wasn't possible. I mean, I saw a girl that her quirk was only being invisible and I'm pretty sure she passed."

"I know there was no malicious intent behind what you said. It's oka- Hold on did you say invisible? That's it?"

"Yeah. There was also a rock kid that could talk to animals, but there were no animals or bugs around and he seemed really excited about how many bots he destroyed."

Izuku threw his hands up, "Could I have passed without a quirk?!"

"You sound like you didn't even believe in yourself."

"I didn't exactly have anyone rooting for me."

"Oh, right. Bullies. Kinda forgot that part" Kyouka said, putting her head on her arms on the piano.

Izuku waved her off, "It's fine. I don't let them get to me."

Kyouka furrowed her brow and turned to Izuku. "No one can just not let things get to you. I'm sure that, since you're someone who still fought to get to U.A quirkless, you're pretty stubborn. But, those things get planted in your head whether you like it or not."

"N-No, really. I'm alright."

"Yet, you referred to yourself as Deku. And you had this look in your eyes when those dumbasses showed up and you wanted to leave. Midoriya, you can cut the weeds out all you want, but if you don't take out the roots they'll just keep growing back." Izuku gave a weak smile as he played random keys, clearly uneasy about the entire situation. "...Holy shit, that's a good song lyric." Kyouka quickly grabbed the pen from atop the piano and wrote down another sticky note.

Izuku laughed at her behavior, but went back to a serious look. "What should I do then?"

"Hmm...Take out the roots, and shove it down their throat."

"...What?"

Kyouka bit her lip in thought, "Okay, less violent phrasing. I mean, take what they said and own it. When you own it and then succeed, it just shows how powerless they were instead of you. You can't let 'em keep talking."

"How so?"

"Uh...Hm... Well, I don't know about you. But, Deku sounds like a pretty good hero name to me."

"...But it means useless."

Kyouka smirked at him. "Yep."

"...You've lost me."

"If you go by Deku and use it as a name of pride, then it loses all power for them. Use it in the sense of, "look how far I've come". Calling yourself useless but then being able to do anything makes it a contradiction. It's like a joke."

Izuku was taken aback by her reasonings. If he took the name for himself, then anytime someone called him that it would be like a compliment. Instead of being called useless, they would be calling him someone who can do anything. And one of All Might's main staples was his humor. Making his name be partially a joke would be a step towards that.

And Deku definitely sounded a lot better coming out of Kyouka's mouth.

"...Okay."

Kyouka's brows raised. "Really?"

"Y-Yeah. Y-...Yeah! I'm Deku!"

Kyouka smiled at him. "Awesome. It looks like I've finally found a solid nickname for you."

"Does that mean you'll stop calling me vegetables?"

"Hahahahahahahahaha! Aaahh...No."

Izuku pressed his lips together and nodded, "I figured."

"I'll never have only one name for you. Although, there is one name that I think I should stop calling you."

"Broccoli Boy?"

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

"Just tell me," Izuku said with fake agitation.

Kyouka wiped a tear from her eye and calmed her laughing. "Honestly, I think I'm done calling you Midoriya. I might as well call you Izuku. Along with all of your other nicknames too."

Izuku blushed a bit, "F-First name basis?"

"Dude, you've called me Kyouka like four times tonight."

"I did!?"

"Yep. And, best friends should be on a first name basis...I think. But hey, our friendship is our own thing. So what do you think, _Izuku _?"

The teen smiled back, "I think that sounds great, Kyouka."

Kyouka laid her elbow on Izuku's shoulder and leaned over, "Now, we can either start your musical lesson for real. Or, you can face the wrath of my dad."

"...I'll take the lesson."

"Alright, first I need to teach you how to read sheet music." As Izuku watched Kyouka stand up and walk towards a cabinet to look for sheet music. His life was changing so fast he could hardly keep up. But, with Kyouka, he couldn't help but feel it was going to be great.

Kyouka bent down to grab the sheet music from the bottom of the cabinet, and Izuku quickly looked away.

...Or he would die early.

**A/N: I always like to have Izuku have some sort of emotional problem or turmoil to overcome along with his physical ones. And I've decided in this fic that he should be lonely for one, but he will have minor parental issues. And sadly yes, even with Inko. Not major, like he said. But after essentially saying she didn't believe in him and coddling him like he was fragile, Izuku finds it hard to really share deep personal things with her fearing that same rejection. Kyouka is essentially his first confidant in life. And this time Hisashi isn't gone, just a busy and missing father. I'm thinking of having a problem later on where Izuku feels like All Might has taken Hisashi's place and feels more like his father than anyone else. Instead of that being an overly good thing like in Thank You, it'll be somewhat of a mixed bag for the parents.**


	5. Acceptance

**A/N: Anyone else hate when Kyoka is call Flat chested? Multiple official images and sketches prove that not to be true. Hell, she's not even unfeminine. Anyone see that drawing where Horikoshi put her in Mina's jumpsuit? **

**Girls got curves.**

"Okay, now play every G key." Izuku did as he was told, roaming his fingertips across the piano. His appendages only paused a couple times, hesitating as the teen wasn't sure he was about to press the right key. "Hey, you got them all! A through G, every single one right."

"I-I did!? Really!?"

"Yeah. Nice, Deku. You're a seriously fast learner. You should help me with my homework. Now all you need to do is figure out how to press the keys in a quick enough, perfect succession in the right order and rhythm to create a song," she said, looking at her friend with a smirk.

"...Damn it."

Kyouka laughed at her friend's expense, and turned around to look back at her alarm clock to see it read 9:00 p.m. "Oh shit. I didn't realize how late it was."

"Oh...I guess I-...I-I should probably get going, I guess."

"Yeah…" Both teens looked down in disappointment. The day had gone by perfectly. Even the hiccups in the middle with Katsuki had been a good thing in the end. Izuku, for once in his life, had someone that he could talk to.

He knew their friendship was still a short one. A _very _short one. He felt that he was to blame. Perhaps he was so desperate and so longing for companionship of any kind that he rushed full force at Kyouka. He was a man in a desert who had gone 11 years without water. And suddenly, a glass of water appeared before him.

Izuku extremely quickly glanced over at Kyouka again. His eyes, just for a split second (It was all the time his conscious would allow), dashed towards her slender and curved body. Her leather pants hugging her hips and legs just right. The side of her shirt falling off of her shoulder showing off her pearly white, porcelain skin. And the garment being just loose and baggy enough to where in certain positions Kyouka was in, her black tank top could be seen covering and pressing right against her smaller, but round and voluptuous breasts.

...A slender, _boiling hot _glass of water.

And instead of preserving the water, or savoring it, he chugged it down fast. He had clung to her so quickly, he was afraid that he would lose her just as fast. He had dumped so much on her so fast. Was she just going along with it so as to not hurt his feelings?

...No. No it couldn't be.

He didn't know why. He had never had a real reason to trust anybody. But, he trusted her completely. Kyouka's desire to accept him and actually _want _to be his friend just proved how much of an amazing person she was. And she somehow made Deku, the name he hated with a passion for the last 11 years of his life, the name that reminded him of being useless and weak, into a source of pride. She had plunged into his heart, grabbed onto whatever dark power Katsuki had put over him with that word, beat the shit out of it, mocked and teased it until it cried in a corner, forced it to be good, and then shoved it right back.

She had done more than enough for him to gain his trust ten times over. Izuku believed that he couldn't have asked for anyone better to start his better life with.

"I-I could start learning something else. You can teach me the guitar now!"

Kyouka squinted at Izuku with a smile, "You can't avoid my old man forever." Izuku sighed and stood up from the piano bench. As they made it to the door, Kyouka put a hand on his shoulder. "Quick warning: My dad's quirk is "Voice Box", and he can change his voice to have effects and all that. He does a lot of background vocals for my mom. But, he also likes to do this scary voice to intimidate people. Just letting you know." Kyouka opened the door to her room and the two began walking down the stairs. "He also tends to get a little…" The two teens stopped at the bottom of the staircase to see Kyotoku in a dark cloak sitting straight across from the two. Long rows of candles lit up the pitch black room. An eerie violin played in the background. "...dramatic."

**"** **_You have entered my home and possibly my daughter without my permission? I see. So you have chosen...death."_**

"First of all, NO! And second, I already told him about the voice."

"God damn it! Why do you guys always have to ruin this for me?"

The lights suddenly flicked on to reveal Mika holding the violin. "Sorry, Honey. You know there's no letting one slip past Kyouka. Now, Kyouka I think it's time you introduce your friend here."

Kyouka crossed her arms and looked away, "Mom, Dad, this is Izuku Midoriya. He's cool. Izuku, these are my parents. They're clearly not cool."

Kyotoku squinted his eyes, "First name basis?"

Izuku, who was still blushing at the "possibly my daughter" line, walked up to the two and bowed. "It's a-an honor to meet you both. I've only known Kyouka for a short a-amount of time, but her friendship means so much to me. I'm sorry for my rude entrance into your home. But, i've come to realize that it's usually best to just do what Kyouka says."

Kyotoku couldn't help but chuckle a little bit, "You get used to it."

Mika placed her instrument on the coffee table and walked over to Izuku, her eyes squinting in curiosity. She grabbed onto his face, moving him around to look at every angle. She examined his black and green tufts, spread his eyelids open, squished his cheeks, and finally looked inside of his mouth. "Hmmm...What do you think, Kyo?"

"I don't like him, Mika."

"Okay. Now, your _honest _opinion?"

Kyotoku gave the same expression as his daughter. Crossing his arms and looking away, he mumbled, "...He's okay...I guess. But I swear if you're pervin' on my daught-!"

"Okay! It's late and Izuku has to go home before his mother gets worried! C'mon Green Bean." She grabbed onto Izuku's hand and began walking towards the front door.

Kyotoku jumped out of his chair, "Handholding and cute nicknames!? Mika, hold me back!" Before he could even take his first step forward, Kyouka turned around with her jacks brandished and a fiery look in her eye that sent the fear of God into her father. "...Have a nice night, Midoriya."

"I-It was nice meeting you!" Kyouka closed the door behind them. The teens stood outside on Kyouka's front porch in the moonlight.

The purplette shook her head and sighed, "Sorry about him. He can be overprotective."

Izuku chuckled, "Trust me, I know the feeling. But, I really would like to meet them for real sometime."

The girl nodded, "Well, you should be around here pretty often. So you'll get plenty of chances."

"O-Often?"

"You want lessons, don't you? Besides, what better things do you have to do other than be with me?"

"You make a fantastic point. But, what better things do _you _have to do other than be with _me _?"

"...Shut up."

Izuku chuckled and looked down the pathway leading towards the sidewalk. The glow in the windows of the other houses lit up the streets along with the street lamps and pale moonlight. The path home. The problem was he didn't want to go home. "H-Hey, Kyouka? I...I just...I-I wanted to say just how much today meant t-"

"I think we've had enough mushiness for one day, don't you think?"

Izuku paused at the serious look on her face. "Oh, u-uh, yeah. Sorry. I don't mean to be so ov-" Izuku saw a small smile just barely break free. "...You're messing with me, aren't you?"

She suddenly grabbed onto Izuku's shoulders and shoved him down one of the steps on the porch. Due to Izuku's descent, the two were now eye level. "Yep." Izuku was surprised to be wrapped up in a hug, Kyouka's arms around his shoulders and her head on his shoulder. "I get it. It meant a lot to me too. Thank you, for today and for trusting me."

Izuku's damn tear ducts betrayed him as a few began leaking from his eyes. It was the first hug he had ever received from anyone besides his mother. He managed to gain control of his arms and put his arms around her waist tightly. He breathed in deeply and sighed, but unintentionally caught Kyouka's fragrance. A sweet, delicate fragrance hit his nostrils. He was immediately addicted. Although, it was highly ironic for Kyouka for all people to have a sweet and delicate smell.

Well, she was sweet in her own way. And delicate didn't just mean fragile. It meant pleasant, a fineness to structure. Kyouka was certainly those things...She was pleasantly structured...He needed to stop that train of thought.

"By the way…" Kyouka's jacks suddenly wrapped around his throat. They were very loose, so Izuku knew it wasn't a real threat. "If you tell anyone about this hug, I'll kill you."

"Who exactly am I going to tell? Even if I could, are you ashamed of me?"

"Kinda." Izuku laughed, her tone telling him that she was joking. She pulled back, lightly jabbing him with her jacks. "Now get outta here."

Izuku stepped down from the porch with a smile. As he reached the sidewalk, he turned around. "When are we going to hang out again? Or when is my next lesson?"

Kyouka shrugged, "Whenever, I guess. I'm not busy. Or just whenever we're bored."

"...So tomorrow then?"

Kyouka stepped through her door and turned around to face him, "Don't press your luck." She closed the door, gone from Izuku's sight. The corners of the teen's mouth stayed up as he began walking down towards the street. He only got a few feet before his phone buzzed. He pulled his device out of his pocket to see a text.

_Jirou: I'm bored. So what's up? _

Izuku chucked and shook his head. He walked out towards the sidewalk and back to the train station. The inheritor pulled out and plugged in his headphones, _Songbird _by Fleetwood Mac. He paused as he listened to the song, suddenly skipping to the next song on his playlist.

Kyouka had ruined the song for him. The original didn't hold a candle to his best friend.

…

The purplette smiled down at the text she sent Izuku, happy with her joke. She stepped back into the main room to see her parents again. "So, I'm assuming you didn't tell Dad about him?"

Mika chuckled, "I wanted to see his reaction. Although, I didn't expect you to bring him over so soon."

"It was kind of impromptu. Trust me, I wouldn't want you two embarrassing me any further. Speaking of which…"

Kyotoku pulled out three pairs of earplugs, "Here we go." He gave the second and third pair to his wife. Two went in her ears, and she stabbed her jacks into the others. "Proceed."

"Are you freaking kidding me!? "Entered my house and possibly my daughter"!? What is wrong with you!? Why would you say that!? You're just so-" Kyotoku and Mika watched their daughter with no clue what she was saying. Well, they knew. They just didn't want their eardrums blown out. They knew their daughter was usually a low voiced, kept to herself kind of person. Even to them, sharing her feelings wasn't exactly something common. It took a toll on her just to tell them she wanted to be a hero.

...Except when she was pissed.

Eventually, Kyouka stopped yelling. The parents took out their ear plugs, and Mika asked, "Are you done?"

"...Yes."

"Honey, you know your father. He takes protecting you to a serious degree. And that includes being suspicious of your romantic interes-"

"Friend."

"Sure, why not? Your father is only doing his job, and I have the obligation to help him. I already made my judgement when I saw him. And…" Mika walked up to her daughter and held her shoulders. "...He. Was so. Cute!"

Kyotoku jumped up, "Mika!? I thought you were on my side!"

"Sweetheart, I promised to judge him fairly and honestly. So, I am. He was polite and adorable."

"No! We're supposed to judge him as parents would: Completely unfairly and with an overprotective bias!"

"Oh come on, Kyo. We've barely even spoken with him."

"Does he even play an instrument!?"

"That doesn't matter."

"It does in my unfair and biased opinion! So Kyouka, does this boy play an instrument?"

_*Slam* _

Both parents turned to see Kyouka had vanished, and the sound of her bedroom door closing echoed from up the stairs. Mika turned to her husband, "Now that she's gone, how did you really feel?"

Kyotoku slumped down on the couch, "It was like trying to hate a puppy. I can't. Doesn't mean he has to know that yet."

Mika smiled, "You'll have to tell that to Kyouka soon. Whether she acts like it or not, our approval still matters to her. We don't want her to feel like we're against her. You can't say no to her anyway. You never could." Mika sat down next to her husband and leaned into him.

Kyotoku sighed, "15, going to hero school, and now that boy will eventually be her boyfriend if what you think is true...When did she grow up? Last I checked, she was still playing that little guitar in this living room."

Mika shrugged, "Who knows? All that matters is that her future stays bright and that we support her. Do you know what that includes?"

"...Is it supporting her romantic inter-"

"Supporting her romantic interests, correct."

Kyotoku raised his hands in defeat, "I'll get to know the kid. I promise."

Up at the top of the stairs, an earphone jack listened in. It retracted back to the bedroom door it came from and back to Kyouka's shoulder. The teen smiled, happy that Izuku's relationship with her family was already a sealed deal. She knew her old man always exaggerated with that kind of stuff, but was a softy at heart. Now that the first situation was taken care of, Kyouka needed to deal with her other dilemma.

She quickly rushed to her mirror and frantically looked herself over. What the hell did Izuku see? Breathtaking? Model? What was he talking about? Kyouka wasn't one for stereotypes, but maybe the nerd needed glasses. All she saw was a flat-chested, boyish framed punk. The only thing she could find that was decent on her was the make-up.

...The fucking make-up.

The thing used to cover her ugliness.

Kyouka stomped over to her desk/make-up table and aggressively pulled off her combat boots, throwing them to her closet door. She grabbed the make-up wipes and quickly took everything off of her face. Once she was done, she looked at her reflection.

And just like everyday, she didn't like what she saw.

She stood up, her hand grabbing the hem of her shirt. She flung it off, now only in a tank top and her pants and socks. She was unbuckling her belt, but stopped herself. What was the point? Looking at her body would just make herself feel even worse. Kyouka walked over to her bed and sat down with her head in her hands. Her chest hurt. It always hurt when she thought about it.

Izuku had been the first person besides her parents to ever compliment her appearance. Hell, he more than just complimented her appearance. He praised and gawked over her appearance. She never believed her parents. It always felt like more of an obligation than true honesty. They were her parents, so they had to say she was beautiful. But, Izuku was someone new. He was her friend. He had already made it clear that he trusted her by sharing his story, and he was so pure that she couldn't imagine him lying. At least, not for something so petty as appearance. Especially when he said she was important to him.

...So why didn't she believe him?

_"...You look breathtaking." _

_"You could be a model." _

_"I mean, you wouldn't have to wear a bunch of make-up or anything like they do. But, you could easily be one." _

Every word he said sounded so genuine. But, every time she looked in the mirror, she just couldn't understand. She wasn't even plain. She wished-...No, she would beg to be plain over what she was. The pain in her chest began to constrict on her. The teen shook her head to clear her thoughts, but it didn't work. Kyouka opted for the next option of simply shutting down her brain and going to sleep. She finished unbuckling her pants and kicked them off. The purplette slipped under the covers and extended her jack to flip her lightswitch. The room turned completely dark save for the light under the door, her clock, and strands of moonlight coming through the curtains.

Even with her eyes closed and her body warm underneath the blankets, her train of thought was keeping her from sleeping. She hated nights like this. Kyouka was supposed to be tough and not take anyone's crap.

But, no matter how tough her exterior was, an attack from the inside couldn't be stopped.

She could take anyone's crap but her own. She just couldn't help it. How do you avoid something that you have to look at everyday? Her body began to feel uncomfortable. It wasn't a discomfort that could be solved with a scratch or a shifting of positions. She couldn't escape the discomfort that was her own body.

_*Bzzt* _

Her phone buzzed on her bedside table, and Kyouka almost didn't pick it up. But, she pushed herself to reach her arm over and pick up her phone. She squinted at the light, and as her eyes adjusted Izuku's name appeared.

_Broccoli Boy: I know we essentially said the general thoughts, but I feel like I still need to say something. So, about what I was going to say earlier, thank you so much. I don't want my past to be used for pity or anything. I don't want that. So thank you for not pitying me. You just accepted me. I've never really had that before, and it's all I wanted. I promise, even if I don't make it into U.A and you go on to do amazing things, I'll be the best friend you need too. I doubt I'll be as amazing as you, but I'll try. _

Kyouka looked at the text and the constriction on her chest loosened. It was there, but just less so. How did that cute, handsome, awkward, stuttering, jacked, pure-hearted, adorable freckle-faced bastard always manage to make her feel better?

Well, she knew. Especially if all of the adjectives she used were anything to go by.

She scoffed to herself. Having crushes was never her style. It wasn't like they would be attracted to her anyway...Although, Izuku seemed to like her looks. Whatever little bubble of hope appeared in her heart was immediately popped by her own mind. _'He had to have been just doing pleasantries or something. He's not the kind of person to just negatively comment on someone's appearance.' _

She would just have to settle for what they had.

Kyouka held her phone to her chest and completely burrowed under her blankets.

...

"Mom, I'm home." Izuku walked into the living room to see his Inko sitting on the couch in her pajamas watching T.V.

"You're home much later than I expected. I was getting worried."

Izuku took off his jacket and hung it up on the rack. "Sorry. I stopped by Kyouka's house for a bit." He watched his mother suddenly perk up.

"Kyouka?"

"Uh, yeah. Th-That's her first name."

Inko stood up, "I know...and you're using it."

Izuku paused, "Mom, it's not-"

"And you were at her house, after spending all day alone with her."

"Mo-"

_*sniff* _"And you have women's perfume on you." Izuku lifted his arm and took a whiff. His mother was right. Whatever Kyouka was wearing must have rubbed off on him. "Oh, Izuku...I'm not ready to be a grandmother yet."

Izuku shook his head, "Mom, you know nothing happened."

She began to giggle, "I know, I know. But, c'mon. Tell me what happened. How did it go? Where did you go?"

Izuku faltered for a second and began shifting on his feet. "Uh...N-Nothing. We just walked around."

"I know that's not true. You've been walking around on your phone all day for the past few days with this girl. Tell me what happened. Was it fun?"

"Uh, y-yeah. Mom, i'm gonna go to bed. I-I'm pretty tired."

Inko's smile faltered, "O-Oh. Alright, goodnight sweetheart."

"Night." Izuku walked his way back to his bedroom and shut the door behind him. He ran a hand through his hair as he sighed. Izuku walked to his desk and sat down as he thought back to the night.

Kyouka was outstanding. Everything just felt right with the world when he was with her. Maybe that was why it took him so long to get a friend. His patience was rewarded, and 11 years (15 from a certain point of view) of waiting was worth it.

And she was a girl. A gorgeous, talented, cool, funny girl. And he could talk to her! Actual sentences!

And all of those feelings about her gave Izuku a light feeling in his chest. He was well aware of what it was going to turn into. Scratch that, not turn into. He knew what it already was, and there was no denying it.

He liked her. A lot. He couldn't get her out of his brain, and her appearance from bored look, to glare, to smiling, to smirking, was all burned into the back of his eyelids.

She made him laugh.

She made him actually feel good about himself.

She could sing like an angel and play anything.

She wanted to be a hero.

She was the definition of cool.

And Izuku knew that he had thought it already so much, but he just could not stress enough just how unbelievably beautiful she was. He was going to have to watch a bunch of light-hearted videos before bed to avoid any "interesting" dreams so seeing her the next day wouldn't make anything awkward for him.

There was just the problem of him being...Well, Izuku.

Although, there was one thing he needed to find out about her. Izuku quickly booted up his computer and began typing. He searched "popular sweet perfumes" and began searching.

...Was it creepy to be searching what a girl smelled like?

'_ ...Yeah. Yeah, it is.' _

Buuut his fingers didn't stop typing. He eventually came upon the products that were flower-based. One immediately caught his eye, Izuku looked at the description and he knew it had to be it.

Violets.

...Izuku never thought he would ever have a favorite flower.

…

**(The Next Week)**

_Kyouka: Dude I swear if you don't get here in the next 5 minutes I'm going to gouge your eyes out. _

_Broccoli Boy: I'm trying! _

Izuku bolted out of the train station and ran out onto the sidewalk heading to the residential area. In his hand he held an envelope from U.A mailed to his house that morning. The pair had told each other that they would open their acceptance letters together. Or, in Izuku's case, his likely rejection letter.

Over the week he became nervous every time he thought about the letter. No matter what he did to the Zero Pointer, it was still worth no points. He was tempted to just pull the band aid off quickly and call All Might to ask if he had passed or not. But, he promised Kyouka to open the letters together. Well, technically she was the one that promised and Izuku was the one that made the suggestion. She originally thought it was cheesy, but relented. They had made sure to see each other every day they could over the week.

...Which turned out to be literally everyday.

Even if only for a couple of hours after school, they latched back together until the sun was down and the moon was high in the sky.

During school hours people began to look at him strangely. Not that people didn't stare weirdly at him to begin with being the quirkless outcast and all. Quirkless to them that is. But, this stare was a different one. They seemed weirded out by him. He didn't realize what was wrong until yesterday when he went into the bathroom and looked into the mirror.

He had been smiling.

He had been thinking about Kyouka all day everyday, and slipped in texts whenever he could during class. He had been smiling every day, and people were utterly confused. Izuku understood why.

He never smiled. He didn't look at anyone or even speak during school hours. Hell, he hardly smiled at home. But, now he was smiling all the time. He probably should've guessed something was off when even Bakugou looked at him funny.

Kyouka's effect on his life was already drastic. It was almost scary how fast it was.

Her house came into view, and Izuku rushed up to the front door. Before he could ring the doorbell, it swung open to reveal to jacks dangerously close to his eyeballs. Izuku looked around the appendages and pushed down the stutter in his chest when Kyouka was wearing ripped jeans and a red, deep v-neck "Sex Pistols" shirt.

"For a guy with a body enhancing quirk, you're really damn slow."

"But I'd break my legs!"

Kyouka shrugged, "Meh." She grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the stairs. "Now c'mon. I've been waiting forever."

Izuku quickly turned and waved at Kyotoku and Mika before he was pulled up the stairs. Being at Kyouka's most nights allowed him to properly speak to them...Kinda...

...And it was even more awkward than he thought it would be.

…

**(The Night After The Outing)**

"Oh, hello M-Mr. Jirou. I'm here to-AH!" Izuku was yanked into the house and shoved onto the couch. Kyotoku sat across from, staring at him with a stone-cold glare. The two sat in complete silence as Izuku sat wide-eyed, not knowing what to say or do. "...U-...Um…"

"Dad! I heard the doorbell. Is Izuku here?" Kyouka's voice traveled down the stairs to the living room. The father didn't even acknowledge it as he continued to simply stare at the house guest.

Izuku nervously gestured towards the stairs, "Um...I-I should g-" Suddenly, Kyotoku's eyes slowly widened into an even more intense and scary glare. His eyes wide saucers, but his brows still furrowed. A quick, high, and sharp tune began to play as he continued to glare. Izuku raised a brow in confusion and turned around to see Mika, once again, playing her violin behind the couch.

Mika gave a little wave, "Hello again, Midoriya. Sorry about this. He likes to have his own theme music. You can go ahead up to Kyouka. He's not going to stop. Kyo is convinced he can scare you away from coming back."

"W-Well, I wouldn't stop as long as Kyouka is here."

"Good answer." She nodded her head towards the stairs and Izuku got up. Keeping eye contact with Kyotoku, he awkwardly moved around the couch and towards the stairs. "Oh, one more thing." Izuku turned to Mika and awaited for her to speak again. "Saying she has my quirk, I know this for certain. But, yes like normal earlobes, hers are also...sensitive."

"Oh, o-okay. Why would I need to kn-..." Izuku finally realized what she meant that for.

"Just a tidbit for the future." She walked out the room, leaving Izuku and Kyotoku alone. Izuku sat with wide eyes at the staircase, not knowing what to do with that information. Kyotoku turned around on the couch and pointed two fingers at his own eyes, and then two at Izuku.

Kyouka jogged down the stairs, "Dude, what's taking you so long? Why're yo-" She turned to see her father staring down Izuku. "Oh my-...You've gotta be shitting me." She grabbed Izuku and took him up the steps.

…

**(Present)**

So, yeah. Not exactly the most ideal official meeting with your crush's parents.

But, at the very least, he had Mika on his side.

He and Kyouka entered her room and she took him to her desk. She pulled up another stool and sat him down. Side by side, both teens pulled out their envelopes and placed them on the desk. They looked at each other and Kyouka nodded to the envelopes. "Who first?"

Izuku pushed Kyouka's to her, "I'll stall the pain."

She hit his arm, "Shut up. You're getting in. In fact…" Kyouka swiftly grabbed Izuku's letter and tore it open before he could react.

"Wha-! What are you doing!?"

"I'm so confident you got in that we're doing yours first and getting it out of the way."

"But-"

**"I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION!" **Both teens looked in shock at the large picture of All Might in front of them. **"It's been a bit since I've done promotional work like this. But, it is for good reason. I am actually in town to teach at U.A!"**

Izuku's jaw dropped. Toshinori never told him about that. Even Kyouka looked a little shocked, "Wow. I can't believe they got All Might to actually settle down and teach. I would ask if you're excited about that, but your jaw on my floor says enough." Over the last week, Kyouka became aware of Izuku's obsession with the number one hero. She had yet to see his room, but when she asked him how much merchandise he had of All Might, all he said was "Yes".

**"I actually...Hm?" **Someone from off-screen began talking. **"What? Get to the point? Okay I-...I'm sorry, I have to do how many of these? How many people did they take!? Ugh, alright. Ahem. Young Midoriya, as well as you did on the written exam, you scored zero Hero Points. Which naturally results in failure."**

Izuku grimaced and gripped his pant leg. He scrunched his face up in pain and tears welled in his eyes. _'...I'm so __pathet__-' _

"STUPID FUCKING SCHOOL!" Izuku flinched away and stared in awe as Kyouka stood from her chair and stomped to the other side of her room, cursing more times in a sentence than even Katsuki ever had. Kyouka would always say the occasional curse, but it wasn't much. This however... "Stupid fucking school and their stupid God-damn points and their stupid mother-fucking God-damn dumbass standards!" She grabbed her electric guitar, raised it into the air, and stomped back to the table. She raised her guitar and was just about to smash it down onto the metal projector disk.

**"However!" **The purplette stopped, her guitar mere inches from the disk. " **That is not the end of the story." **A video of the girl Izuku had saved from the Zero Pointer appeared. How they got the video of the scene, Izuku would never know.

_"Um, excuse me? Do you know the boy from my exam area? Curly hair, freckles, plain-looking?" _

Kyouka squinted her eyes at the last description, _'Tch, Bitch.' _

_"I could hear talking after he saved me, and he mentioned that he didn't have any points. He sacrificed passing to save my life, all because I screwed up. Please, give him some of my points. Whatever amount you can." _Kyouka immediately felt bad for her comment. Izuku was still gobsmacked beside her.

**"You see, we tricked you. Villain points were not the only factor. What kind of hero school would we be if we didn't accept people with true heroism in their hearts?"**

In the video, Present Mic patted Uraraka's head._ "That's real kind of you. But, even if we could do that, there's no need." _

**"You heard him right! No need at all! Because Young Midoriya, you've been awarded 60 rescue points! A PASSING GRADE!" **The crunch of Kyouka's guitar hitting the floor was the only noise made. Izuku's tears were flowing, but not out of sadness. **"Congratulations young man. You're in. Welcome to your hero academia."**

_*Blip* _

The image flickered off, and Kyouka looked over to Izuku. "Is it a bad time to say I told you so?"

Izuku stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Not at all." He latched onto Kyouka with a tight hug. "For once, it's the one time I want to hear it."

That phrase, "I told you so", was a phrase that Izuku expected to hear from everyone else whenever he was quirkless and failed the exam. But now...Now someone believed in him. Of course All Might believed in him too. Although, Kyouka was different. With All Might, Izuku had to show off heroic actions that nearly got himself killed just to gain the hero's approval. With Kyouka, it was simply by being himself.

For once, someone believed in him. And finally, it came to fruition.

"Is hugging for you just going to be a thing?"

"Oh, sorry!" Izuku pulled his arms back, but they were immediately put back into place by Kyouka.

"I didn't say stop. I was just asking." Kyouka put her arms around his shoulders, embracing him back. She was just as excited as Izuku was. A hug wouldn't hurt.

...It also helped that whenever Izuku hugged her, her body stopped feeling wrong.

Two puzzle pieces finally finding their match.

**A/N: I know after The Cultural Festival, everyone's been on a Kyoka high. But, this has been happening for a long time. And to those who also read Thank You, you might be surprised but...**

**Kyoka might be best girl. And by best girl, I mean in all categories. I know I'm on a Kyoka high like everyone else, but this high has been going on for a long time before this arc. My heart will always fight between Momo and Kyouka, both winning at different times. I love both of them to absolute death, and their both some of my favorite characters in general. Not just female characters. But damn, Kyouka is really winning right now. I love her design, attitude, her personality and traits. And honestly, I know this is probably unpopular opinion and remember this is subjective and you can like what you want, but I kinda think she's the prettiest.**

**...Man my life is sad.**


	6. Two Piece

**(One Week Later)**

"Aw c'mon, Deku."

_"I'm really sorry Kyouka. I have to keep up on my training or I'll just continue to break my bones. I've already missed out on a lot of time this week," _Izuku said over the phone.

On her bed, Kyouka grimaced a little bit as she felt that it was partly her fault. He probably missed out on his training just to be with her.

...That thought then caused the guilt to turn into a flutter in her heart. To him, she was more important.

Kyouka shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Yeah, I get it." Kyouka was a little disappointed. She felt like a spoiled child begging for a toy. She was still going to see Izuku that day, but she was complaining that she would get him for less time than usual. "I guess I should get my own training in, too. I haven't exercised since the entrance exam."

_"...I-I mean...you could join me."_

"Hm?"

_"If we're both going to train, why not do it together? We're going to see each other anyway, so we could just meet now. Y-You don't even have to train with me! I could just use the company. I'm going to Dagobah beach if you want to."_

Kyouka's lips pursed and her brows rose, "That's... actually a really good idea." U.A was still just under a month away, but just because she already got in didn't mean she could slack off. And Izuku was jacked, so he clearly knew what he was doing. She wasn't looking to get buff or anything, but being in shape was important for a hero.

Although, there was one thing she needed to know to seal the deal.

_"So does that mean you're coming?"_

"Before I answer, quick question: Do you workout shirtless?"

_"Uh, s-sometimes. Why?"_

"No reason. On my way." She ended the phone call and walked into her closet. Kyouka changed into purple sneakers, black joggers, a black tank top, and zipped up a deep blue sweat jacket. As Kyouka was leaving her closet, she paused and looked to the back.

Hm...a beach.

Just for a split second, Kyouka looked back into her closet. On a hanger in the back was a yellow bikini her mother had bought her, without Kyouka's permission of course. It would be a nice way to cool off after a workout.

...She was never going to wear that thing.

It wasn't that she didn't like how it looked. Granted, yellow wasn't her absolute favorite color, but it was still nice. She was more akin to green nowadays. No, Kyouka was never going to wear it because she thought it would never look good _on her_. She thought her body wasn't meant for bikinis, or anything of the sort.

Hell, she didn't like swimsuits in general.

She pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes, flicking off the lights and leaving the bikini alone. Pushing down the pain in her chest, she grabbed her bag and walked out the door.

…

After grabbing a few water bottles and telling her parents where she was going, Kyouka was on her way. It didn't take all that long to reach Dagobah, but when she did Izuku was already doing push-ups in the sand.

With a shirt on…

_'Damn it.' _Kyouka looked around the beach a little surprised. When she looked up the location of the beach all of the pictures showed the place completely covered in garbage and scrap. But, the beach looked pristine. Not a single spec of trash was to be seen. If more people knew about it, it would be a popular hotspot.

Kyouka hopped down the steps and began walking towards her friend. Her ears began picking up what he was saying under his breath. "214...215...216…"

Kyouka stopped in her tracks. Either Izuku didn't know how to count, or he had actually done over 200 push-ups...and didn't look like he was slowing down.

"Be honest, did you choose the beach because you like Rocky III? Because I'm not racing you."

Izuku looked over to Kyouka and chuckled, "No, I already fought Mr. T last week."

"Ooh, trying to be the funny one in this friendship now?"

Izuku stopped his push ups and stood up in a plain light blue shirt and basketball shorts. "N-No, I can't win that title."

Kyouka placed her bag down and unzipped her jacket. "Good. You're already "The Brains" and "The Muscle". I need to bring something to this dynamic besides "The Girl Character"."

"I-I'm not all that smart. And I helped you with your homework like you asked, and from what I saw I'd say we can both be the brains. And you have the "The Looks" hands down."

Kyouka blushed heavily and looked away, the flutter coming back. "At this point, we're both "The Wildcard". I don't think either one of us is very good at predicting the other. But, that leaves you with two and me with five including the ones you just gave me. Unless you want to be the chick?"

"I'll take my two, thanks."

Kyouka chuckled at their banter and let her jacket fall off her shoulders and into her bag. Even in a tank top Izuku blushed and turned away. What could he say? She looked good in everything. "So, how are we going to start?"

"Oh! To be honest I-I thought we would just do our own individual training."

"What, you think I can't handle it? You think I'm weak?"

"N-No! Not at all! I-I jus-"

Kyouka's laughter halted his panic, "I'm messing with you. I could hear how many push ups you did. I definitely can't handle that, believe me. But, what about a light version? A super watered down version? A version that actually won't kill me?"

Izuku smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "I guess I can do that. What I do now is still hard, but I worked my way up to it. I don't need to go heavy today, so I can do an easier version with you."

"Pft. Hard for you? Look at yourself. You're like a Greek statue."

"I-I'm not that-"

*_Smack_*

Kyouka punched Izuku directly in the chest as hard as she could. He didn't even move. "You didn't even feel that, did you?"

"...N-Not really."

"Great, now I can't tell if you're just that fit, or if I'm just weak. Might as well make sure it's not the second one." Kyouka began stretching her muscles out, "Alright, what do we do first?"

…

**(1 And A Half Hours Later)**

"I hate you."

"K-Kyouka, you don't mean that...R-Right?"

"You said you'd give me the easy version."

"...B-But, that was the eas-

"Don't. Finish. That. Sentence." Kyouka groaned with half of her face in the sand. She knew that the work to get a body like Izuku's was tough, but what she had gone through wasn't a workout.

It legally classified as torture.

By no means was Kyouka out of shape. But, there was a difference between being in shape and being the image that shows up when you search "being in shape".

"Why would you do this to me? I thought we were friends."

"You made it through though! When I first started this workout regiment, I couldn't get through the first 10 minutes without throwing up." Kyouka's performance actually impressed him. He never had any doubt that she would do well, but All Might's workout routine could be ruthless at times. It could still be painful even for someone like Izuku who had become used to it.

But, Kyouka pulled through.

Izuku also felt a little guilty as he had zoned out and skipped a few sets during the workout, so Kyouka did a little more than he had. He...had a lot on his mind.

...And that didn't mean being distracted by watching Kyouka's muscles as she worked out.

...Not at all.

"I think that's enough for the day."

"If you didn't say that and I could move my arms, I would've punched you." Izuku chuckled as he helped her up and moved her towards the stone wall at the back of the beach near Izuku's own bag. The two sat against the wall, resting their bodies after their long morning. The sun wasn't at its highest yet, but it was close to noon. "Hey, there's some water and snacks in my bag. Can you go grab it? I would, but my legs feel like someone replaced the muscles with Jell-O."

"O-Of course." Izuku hoisted himself back up and jogged towards her bag. He picked it up and began walking back to Kyouka. He opened the bag to grab and hand her a water bottle, but froze.

Kyouka saw his reaction and looked at him confused, "What?"

Izuku's face went completely red, "N-Nothing! Nothing, just uh...here." The inheritor handed Kyouka the bag and sat back down next to her. "I-I just didn't pack my own. I-I didn't think w-we were actually going to swim here."

Kyouka's eyes went wide and she immediately yanked her bag open to reveal the yellow bikini from her closet and a note.

_"When you told us you were going to the beach, I slipped this in here before you left. I figured you might want to wear it and he might want to see it. Wink."_

_ -Love, Mom._

Kyouka groaned, "I didn't put this in here. My mom did. She probably thought we'd be swimming, too." Kyouka decidedly left out the true reasoning as to why her mother put the swimsuit in. She moved the swimwear out of the way and grabbed two waters, handing one to Izuku.

Izuku unscrewed the cap and cleared his throat, a blush still adorning his face. "O-Oh. Well, I guess that's a safe assumption since we're at a beach." It was a nice day out, a swim didn't actually sound that bad.

But, 1. He didn't have his swimming trunks with him.

And 2. He wasn't ready to see Kyouka in a swimsuit.

...A swimsuit.

...A bikini, to be exact.

A thousand different images began flooding his mind of her wearing said bikini, and his heart began pounding. Izuku shook his head and took a drink of water, only to spit it out immediately. It tasted metallic. He lifted the bottle to see the top of the water was a misty light pink. It was almost as if a drop of blo-...

Izuku felt under his nose to find blood; a result of his thoughts about Kyouka in the swimsuit. He quickly wiped away the red liquid before Kyouka could notice and acted as if it didn't happen.

Kyouka closed her eyes as the sun basked over her. "So, you ready for U.A, Green Bean?"

"Yeah. I've been waiting my whole life to go there. And now I get to go with you, and All Might is a teacher. I've never been more excited."

"I'm actually a little nervous. What if we don't get in the same class? I've also heard that some of the teachers there are pretty rough. What if they look at my quirk and think it's useless or something?"

"You're asking the guy who breaks his bones every time he uses his quirk."

Kyouka chuckled, "Fair point."

"And your quirk isn't useless at all! It's so cool! There's so much you can do with it!" Izuku quickly grabbed his own bag and pulled out his notebook, flipping through the pages for the one he was looking for.

"Is that one of the notebooks you told me about?"

"O-Oh, yeah" Izuku said, a little embarrassed.

Kyouka saw the cover of the notebook and looked at Izuku questioningly, "Volume 13 2.0?"

"This is the second version of that volume. The original was uh... destroyed."

Kyouka saw how Izuku said that and squinted at him, "Destroyed how?"

"It's nothing, I-" Izuku tried to deflect the question, but Kyouka's gaze was unwavering. Besides, he said he didn't want to lie to her. He doubted he could have anyway. "... Kacchan blew it up and threw it in a fountain."

The purplette scowled and shook her head, "I swear, one day I'm gonna kick him in the balls. Hard. Wearing a boot." Izuku didn't like needless harm, but he couldn't help but chuckle at the image. Kyouka gestured towards the notebook, "Can I see?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm interested."

Not only did she not find it weird, but she found his notebooks interesting? A rogue image of Kyouka in the bikini reading his notebooks appea-

_'STOP!' _Izuku handed her the book, "Here."

Kyouka took the notebook from his hands and began reading. "Woah. Holy crap, this is insane!"

_'Uh oh. Now she sees it and realizes how weird it is. She's going to leave and never talk to m-'_

"You never said you could draw!" The notebook was suddenly put back in front of his face with a sketch of Mt. Lady on the page. "That's really good. Like, scary good."

"Oh, uh th-thanks. I've been doing this since I was five, so I guess I've picked up on a few things."

"I'd say this is way more than a few." Kyouka began skimming through the lines and looked baffled. "You've really thought of everything for her. Zoning, bridge and building evacuations...Ooooh, okay."

"What?"

Kyouka pointed to the bullet point on the side of the page.

_Sexy_

Izuku began frantically waving his hands. "Ah! It's not what you think!"

"So you don't find Mt. Lady sexy?"

"I-I mean, she's a very pretty woman, b-but-"

"So you admit it!"

"No! I-I meant sexy in terms of her hero work."

Kyouka squinted at him suspiciously, "Explain."

"W-Well, she's a newcomer. A lot of new heroes are always trying to find new ways to gain popularity to boost their rankings besides the amount of crimes busted and such. From what I've seen, she's chosen sex appeal as one of her options. Kind of like Ms. Midnight...except more subtle...Well, a little subtle."

"Subtle how?"

"She purposely shows off her butt...a lot."

"So you stare at her ass?"

"Kyouka!"

Kyouka began laughing hysterically at Izuku's dismay, "Alright, I'm kidding. Kidding...but, you did."

"It's n-not exactly easy to avoid when she's 20 meters tall and shoving it in your face!" Izuku then froze, and Kyouka's eyes went wide.

"..."

"I shouldn't have phrased it like that."

"Pffft Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!" Izuku put his head in his hands as Kyouka's uncontrollable laughter echoed throughout the entire beach. Izuku usually would have been completely embarrassed, but with Kyouka it was different.

Her laughter was just as infectious as it was beautiful.

"Hehehe," Izuku began chuckling right alongside her, the humor of his words dawning on him. "You're never going to let me live that one down, are you?"

Kyouka wiped a tear from her eye and held her now hurting stomach, "I would usually say no, but you give me so much good material that I might have to move on to a different joke." Kyouka turned back to the notebook and began flipping through more pages until she reached one that made her falter.

A page of herself.

She had asked herself what Izuku saw when he looked at her. And now she was convinced he needed glasses. The sketch had to be a different woman wearing a Kyouka costume. The teenage girl in the sketch looked amazing. It even looked as if Izuku put in more effort on that drawing then the rest of them.

Was that seriously what Izuku thought she looked like?

Well...he only called Mt. Lady pretty. He told Kyouka she was "breathtaking". The musician didn't know the exact scale of the descriptions of beauty, but breathtaking sounded a whole lot better than simply pretty. "I feel like your drawing of me is a bit too generous."

"Hm? Did I mess something up?" Izuku quickly took the notebook and began looking back and forth between the sketch and Kyouka. "... Actually, I'm usually not one to toot my own horn. Most of the time I'm pretty critical of myself. But, I'm actually really proud of this one. I don't see the mistake."

Kyouka donned a light blush, "Is that really what you think I look like?"

"...Uh, yeah?" Izuku said, giving her a look of confusion. He said it as if the answer should be obvious.

Kyouka smiled, "You're so strange." She took the notebook back, leaving Izuku still confused. The purplette read over her quirk's notes and was surprised. "Are these...gear ideas?"

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah. I thought they would be cool. I don't know a lot about design and tech, but everything there is possible to make. There have been much more complicated pieces of tech. Do you have ideas of your own?"

Kyouka grabbed her phone and pulled up the picture of her hero costume design. "This is what I'm sending in to U.A."

Izuku began gawking over everything. "That's so cool! It really fits with your aesthetic. And are those speakers in your boots?"

"Yep. My jacks will plug into them and boost my soundwaves to do damage. Although…" Kyouka reread the gadget ideas. "These are actually pretty freaking awesome. Are those speakers for my hands?"

"Y-Yeah. Now that I know you have speakers on your boots, that actually makes them work even better. You're evened out across your whole body. And it would take less time to plug them into your hands."

Kyouka pointed to another bullet point, "What about the headphones?"

"Honestly, I just put them there for the design. I thought they really fit for you."

"Hmm." Kyouka bit the inside of her cheek in thought. "It says here that my quirk would be very useful for infiltration and hostage situations. What if they enhance my hearing even more?"

"Oh yeah! That's a great idea."

"And what about...wait. Hand to hand combat effectiveness: Exemplary? Last I checked, earlobes aren't exactly the most efficient in a fist fight."

"Really? But yours are essentially like two extra appendages that can jab and stun people!"

Kyouka lifted a brow, "I've never thought about it like that. You really think I can fight with my jacks?"

"Of course! I mean, you're going to need some protection for them since they'll be even more of a target. Maybe some metal casing. How durable are they? I would assume like normal earlobes, but the ends are like metal so that also begs the question of is the rest of it as durable, not to mention that a lot of physically changing quirks are different than the rest of the human body since they are technically evolved forms of the bod-"

"Mutter-Boy, you need to breathe at some point."

"Hm? Oh!" Izuku realized his lungs were burning and took a deep breath.

"Maybe you are just "The Muscle". But I get what you're saying if I could make out... whatever all that was. I'd say my jacks are pretty sturdy. One time they got run over by a car."

"What?"

"When I was little and they first came in, I wasn't all that great at moving them around. I could make them extend, but I had a hard time shortening them. So one as my family and I were walking down the street, my jacks were on the ground and it just so happens someone was driving really close to the sidewalk. It hurt and they were bruised, but as you can see they're just fine. Hell, we met because one of those damn two ton bots at U.A fell on one."

"You're right. It's still something to think about though."

Kyouka looked back over the notes and turned to Izuku, "Do you think you can help me with this? Do you know how to fight?"

Luckily, All Might didn't leave "How to fight" out of his workout plan. "Some basic street fighting and brawling stuff. A bit of boxing and wrestling. I don't know any martial arts or anything."

"Do you have money to pay for martial arts classes?"

Izuku shook his head, "Not for an extended amount of time. Maybe a half a year's worth. By that point we'll be in U.A."

"Everything you know plus YouTube videos it is then. I haven't sent in the design, so I can add this stuff on now. Thanks, Izuku. You and that big brain of yours."

Izuku gave a warm smile, "No problem." Izuku checked the time. "It's almost noon. Should we go eat something?"

"I would, but we're all sweaty. I gotta shower."

Ignoring the thought of Kyouka in the shower, Izuku shifted his eyes, "Oh, right. Sweaty…"

Kyouka narrowed her eyes at him, "...Let me feel your forehead."

"No I ju-" It was too late. Kyouka had already put her head on his forehead, and then began putting her hands everywhere. _'So...close…'_

"You're not sweating at all, you jackass! None of that was hard for you! You basically just sat there and watched me suffer for two hours!"

"You asked for it! Literally!"

_'Shit, he's right.' _Kyouka donned a faux scowl and packed up her things. "Whatever. C'mon, since I'm the only one disgusting at the moment, we can just go back to my place so I can shower. You're due for another music lesson anyway." As she tried to stand, her legs wobbled and she leaned against the wall. "Ah, what the…"

Izuku quickly realized what was wrong, "Oh yeah. That workout routine can do that to you. In my first week of training I had to get home by rolling belly-down on an old skateboard I found when all the trash was here. My legs were useless. Do you need help?"

"No, I got iiiAAAH!" Kyouka tried to stand up but soon realized that it wasn't an option. Before she could fall in the sand Izuku caught her and brought her back to him. Both went flush as their bodies pressed against one another. "Y-You wouldn't happen to have that skateboard still, would you?"

"S-Sorry, n-no. Hmm...we could, uh…" Izuku, having experienced the same feeling Kyouka was, knew that she wouldn't get far trying to walk. Not to mention cramping. Izuku looked deep within himself and summoned every single last drop of confidence he had.

...And by God, it was somehow even less than he was expecting.

But, his desire to help pulled through and the teen bent down in front of Kyouka. "Hop on."

"W-...Wh-What?"

"I know for a fact that you won't get far. I've tried, it doesn't work. I'll take you home."

Kyouka's mind ran a mile a minute at the idea. She shook her head, "It's okay. I'm alright."

"It's really okay, Kyouka. I didn't really get a workout anyway. This can make up for it."

"You calling me fat, Mop-Top?"

"What!? Not at all! I'm just saying-"

"Messing with you is so easy." The Punk Rock Girl let out a shaky sigh, "But, I know my limits. And those stairs are pretty daunting. Actually, the walk to the stairs is scary alone. Just no funny business."

"Wouldn't dream of it. I like my eyes where they are." Kyouka eased her way into Izuku's back. And by "ease", that means essentially flopped onto his back with no leg muscles to support her. Izuku picked up her legs and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Izuku lifted her up and began to walk off the beach.

Izuku was having an extremely difficult time with the fact that Kyouka's breasts were pressing into his back. Well, her whole (pleasantly warm) body was pressing against his. But her chest was the most standout feeling. Her breath on his neck didn't help either.

Kyouka was having similar troubles with how chiseled Izuku's back felt, and his hands under her thighs. The only way she was getting through it was through conversation. "Now that you helped me with my quirk, I gotta help you with yours."

Izuku chuckled, "Do you have a way to stop a quirk from being so strong that it breaks my bones?"

"... You're on your own with that one."

"It's okay. I'll get a handle on it eventually. It's why I train so hard; so my body can someday withstand my quirk."

Kyouka nodded, "You said you began training at the beach when the trash was still there. What happened?"

"I cleaned it all."

Kyouka's eyebrows shot up, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, my mentor made it a part of my training. Getting stronger and doing a public service."

"Who's your mentor?"

Izuku faltered for a second, "U-Uh...A man named Toshinori. He was the first person to tell me I could be a hero, and he helped me get to where I am today."

"Sounds like a good guy."

Izuku had a small smile, "The best."

"But he's an asshole for making that workout routine."

Izuku laughed, "He had good intentions."

"Murder isn't a good intention." Izuku once again laughed as they continued to walk down the street further into the edge of the city. With the exhaustion from training, Izuku's warmth on her front, and the sun spreading heat on her back, sleep began overtaking Kyouka.

She was out like a light, and Izuku was more than aware of it as the purplette had suddenly put her face into the back of his neck. Her hot breath blowing onto his skin. As her arms tightened around his neck in her sleep, Izuku decided to not take the train and walk the whole way.

To let her sleep, and to cherish every second of it.

…

Mika left her home studio and walked towards the kitchen for lunch. But, as she walked through her living room, something in the window caught her eye. Izuku was carrying her sleeping daughter towards the house with a smile on his face.

Of course, this would be most mothers opportunity to poke at or continue to push a relationship. But over the course of the 2 and a half weeks, nearing month, that Izuku had been in the house constantly, Mika realized that there was no pushing needed. The two teens were like two rivers that eventually joined into one. The current simply hadn't reached that point.

But, it would. So, Mika quickly grabbed a few things from the fridge and made herself scarce before the teens made it inside, leaving them in peace.

...She still didn't regret the bikini though. Mika knew her daughter wasn't going to wear it...yet. It wasn't for Kyouka to wear. It was for Izuku to see.

Her final push before letting nature take its course.

_*Click*_

The front door opened and Izuku walked inside, closing the door with his foot. To his dismay, it was time to wake Kyouka up. He began lightly shifting his shoulders around to jostle her from slumber. "We're here."

_*Jab*_

"Ow! Why!?"

Kyouka yawned and took her jack out of Izuku's side. "Never shake me awake."

Izuku placed her down and rubbed his side, "Noted."

"Thanks for the lift," Kyouka said, stretching her limbs out. Izuku averted his eyes as she stretched out her back, bringing her chest forward. "My legs are starting to feel somewhat usable again. Let's see if I can make it up the stairs. I'm gonna go hop in the shower. I'll call you up when I'm done. Help yourself to anything in the fridge."

As Kyouka (wobbly) made her way up the steps, Izuku sat down on the sofa allowing his heart rate to slow. That workout had easily been the best in his life. Whatever fire that was burning in his chest had come into contact with some sort of explosive material and engulfed his mind with emotions.

He wanted to say something to her so badly. But, he couldn't. He had One For All and U.A to focus on, All Might definitely wouldn't want any distractions, and he was Izuku Midoriya. Kyouka might be willing to be his friend, but to be attracted to him was pushing it.

Even that girl that tried to give Izuku her points in the entrance exam said it.

He was plain.

Forgettable.

Uninteresting.

Dull.

Maybe his mind was just making up excuses because he was scared. He'd rather just stay friends over being rejected and having their friendship never be the same. But, wasn't part of being a hero facing your fears no matter how scared you were?

Like telling a stunningly beautiful girl that you like her?

And that you can't stop thinking about her in her yellow bikini?

Izuku slapped himself to shake him out of his train of thought. Being antisocial for basically his entire life actually made puberty not as embarrassing. He didn't speak, so he didn't voice crack and he was invisible to most so they didn't watch him go through his awkward stages.

However, he never spoke to girls or had crushes on them. Mostly due to the fact that they already avoided him and/or didn't know he existed. Also, he didn't really look at a lot of them. Most of his school days were spent looking down at his feet or in his notebook.

But, now that he finally had an extremely strong attraction to someone, all of the feelings and such that he had missed out on decided to come back with a vengeance.

And they hit him hard. Very hard.

He knew vivid dreams would happen. He's had them before, but mostly about some female hero he had seen. He would always wake up not really caring. He didn't truly feel anything towards them. It was just his mind trying to fulfill its needs.

But Kyouka...He didn't have enough time in the day to describe every dream he had about her.

And the biggest difference between his old dreams and his Kyouka dreams were that when he woke up from a Kyouka dream his heart felt funny. And then he would just devolve into the same train of thought he was at a few minutes ago.

It was a vicious cycle.

He was going to cave in eventually. It wasn't a matter of if, only when.

Izuku laughed to himself. He would break his bones without hesitation, but he couldn't tell a girl how he felt.

Two situations he didn't know how to fix.

**(10 Minutes Later)**

"Hey, c'mon up!" Izuku heard Kyouka from up the stairs and quickly bounded up to the second floor. He entered Kyouka's room to see her dressed black sweatpants and a deep blue shirt. Her hair was shiny and wavy, still damp from her shower.

Why did Izuku find wet hair attractive? He didn't feel like finding out and punched his chest to stop the pleasant bubbling at the sight of it. He took his seat next to Kyouka on the piano bench

**(5 Minutes Later)**

"Alright, just repeat my movements. Just the first verse. We're just going to repeat it for a bit." Kyouka began playing the piano while Izuku watched. "_Open up your mind, and let me step insiiide~. Rest your weary head, and let your heart deciiide~. It's so eaaasy~. When you know the rules. It's so eaaasy~. All you have to do is fall in love. Play the game. Everybody play the gaaaaame of love. Yeah~. _Okay? Sing those lyrics in your head as you go along. It'll help you keep the rhythm."

Izuku nodded and began playing the song. He was doing well, but some notes sounded off. He furrowed his brow. "I'm sure I'm pressing the right keys."

Kyouka nodded, "You are. But…" She leaned him back and pointed at the pedals of the piano. "You're far too focused on the arms. You already have the notes and movements down fine. You're just forgetting about the pedals and moving with the rhythm. Your entire body is an instrument and you've gotta use it."

Izuku froze as Kyouka's words repeated back to him in his head. "C-Can you say that again?"

"Your entire body is an instrument. Even while playing the guitar you're tapping your feet, moving with the beat, singing in your head. Your entire body is part of the process."

He looked back up to her with wide eyes, "...My entire body is an instrument."

"Uh, yeah. That's what I just said."

"I'm an instrument."

"...Yeah?"

"I'm a piano!"

"...Yeah, okay. Izuku, we're just gonna go to the doctor real quick."

"No no. You don't get it." Izuku stood up and began pacing around the room. "I've been too focused on my arms this whole time. All Might isn't super slow but strong. His entire body is enhanced. I need to use my entire body!"

"You're losing me, Broccoli Boy."

Izuku whipped around to her, "My quirk! I've been moving all of my power into my arms, when I should be using my entire body!" Kyouka watched as her friend began to glow with reddish-pink lightning across his skin.

She had never seen him use his quirk before, and she was really interested. Who wouldn't want to see a quirk with the ability to destroy a giant robot in a single hit? But, not in her room.

"Woah, big guy! I like my house still standing." Suddenly, Izuku's lightning turned green and arced around his body. "...Is it supposed to do that?"

"I-I think so."

"Think?"

"I've never done this before."

"Oh boy." Izuku pulled back his fist. "No! Wait a minu-!" Izuku took a small percentage of his power, a rough estimate of 3 or 4, and gave a punch. A small gust of wind rushed the room, but Izuku's arm was completely unharmed.

"I-...I did it!"

Kyouka looked at her untouched room in shock. "Holy shit. You did."

"Thank you so much, Kyouka!" The teen was suddenly very close to her, excitement etched across his entire face.

"Wh-...Why are you thanking me?"

"I wouldn't have figured this out without you! You really did help me with my quirk! You're amazing!"

Kyouka thought Izuku was incredible. One of, if not the, most incredible people. But damn he was an enigma to her. Here he was, solving his problem with his quirk. He finally figured out how to stop breaking his bones…

...And yet he was thanking_ her. Complimenting her._

Even after his great achievement, she was what he directed his spotlight on.

She thought back to his notebook and his drawing. How he drew her. How he thought she was capable of so much. He helped her. And somehow, she helped him with something even he couldn't figure out.

Izuku just made everything better.

Kyouka smiled warmly, putting her arms around Izuku and placing her head on his chest. "Thanks, Izuku."


	7. Good Influence

**(A Few Days Later)**

Izuku raised his hand to knock on the door of the Jirou Residence, only for it to swing open and to be dragged in by a punk-rock purplette. "C'mon! C'mon! My letter just got here!"

Izuku laughed, waving at the elder Jirous as he was dragged up the stairs, "I'm coming!" The teens made it to Kyouka's room and closed the door behind them. The teenage girl walked over to her desk and lifted up a letter.

"You bring yours?"

Izuku pulled out his letter from the back pocket of his jeans. "Right here." U.A had finally sent out the packages of proper documentation for parents and students to sign, along with uniforms and class information. "I don't really understand why they didn't just send this stuff with the hologram disk."

Kyouka smirked, "If the entrance exam is anything to go by, then this will probably be the least confusing and over-complicated decision that U.A makes."

Izuku thought back to everything that had happened that day, and added the fact that All Might was going to be a teacher. He sighed, "You're probably right."

"Nevermind that now. What class are you in? Wait, together on three?"

Izuku nodded, "1."

"2."

3."

"Class 1-A!/Class 1-A!"

Both began beaming, and Kyouka put her hands on her knees in relief. "Oh thank goodness. Now I don't have to put in effort on meeting new people. The only way this would be better is if Blondie McAnger-Management isn't in our class."

"One can only hope. I don't hate him as much as he hates me, but...okay, I _do _hate him and he's a jerk, but I-... It's complicated."

Kyouka leaned back against her desk with a raised brow. "It's strange to hear you say you hate something. Especially another person."

Izuku sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he sat down on the purplette's bed. "Hate is a strong word, but I don't really know how else to say it. I admire his strength, abilities, and confidence…"

"But?"

"...But, he's the biggest dick in the world."

"Pfft! Hahahaha!" Kyouka bursted out laughing at Izuku's uncharacteristic choice of words. "Holy shit, I'm such a good influence on you."

"I find that questionable," the greenette joked.

Kyouka walked over to Izuku and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about him. All that matters right now is that we're going to be together. If he's in our class, he's gonna have to get through me first."

Izuku pressed his lips together, "Not that I don't have confidence in your abilities, Kyouka. But, Kacchan can go through a lot."

"He hasn't met me. I'll make fun of him so bad that he'll be crying in the corner."

Izuku chuckled, "I can't even fatho-"

"And if he keeps pushing, he'll be crying because my boot will be so far up his ass that he'll be tasting rubber."

"...Thanks for that image."

"No problem, Asparagus. Now, next on the agenda."

"We have an agenda?"

Kyouka grabbed a pen from her desk, "Did you bring your notebook?"

"Oh, yeah." Izuku pulled out his notebook from his jacket pocket. "Why?"

"Because…" Kyouka grabbed it and began to flip through the pages until stopping on the page she was looking for. "...we're working on this." In front of Izuku was the old sketch he had done for his future hero costume. "You helped me with mine, so I'll help you with yours."

"I really don't think we're gonna figure out how to help my quirk with support gear."

His friend shook her head, "Yeah, I know. I'm talking about helping you design-wise."

"What's wrong with the design?"

"Nothing, it's just that…" Kyouka looked back down at the sketch. "No. No, like so much. There's so much wrong with this."

"Wh-? L-Like what?"

"First off, why are you a rabbit?"

Izuku tilted his head in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Kyouka flipped the paper around to face him. "The bunny ears."

"Oh! No, those aren't bunny ears. Those are supposed to be like All Might's two front bangs. I don't know where you got bunny ears fr-..." Izuku continued to look at the design, his face slowly turning into one of realization, and then exasperation. He sighed, "...Damn it."

"We have a lot of work to do."

**...**

**(2 Weeks Later)**

"I think this is counterproductive." Izuku nodded at Kyouka's words as they stared at sand pouring out of the recently purchased punching bag and on to the purplette's basement floor. The two had gone out and bought a punching bag for Kyouka to practice her new fighting style on.

For some reason neither of the fairly intelligent teens thought about the fact that Kyouka would have to jab her jacks into the workout equipment.

Izuku turned to his best friend, "Plan C?"

"We don't have a Plan C."

"Plan A hurts me though."

"It only hurts you individually because you won't hit back. It's the most efficient, and it helps both of us at the same time."

Izuku sighed, knowing there was no way out of it. "Can we at least get me some form of protection this time?"

…

**(45 Minutes Later)**

The two were now at Dagobah again with a brand new punching bag.

...A green-haired, freckled punching bag.

The teens had moved their training to Dagobah because Kyoutoku and Mika didn't want any sparring in the house. There was a decent outside space for them to train back at the house, but the beach had quickly become special to them. Well, it was already special to Izuku, but Kyouka had also grown attached.

Of course, their time together the previous week and the trip home afterwards were major factors. But, they had gone back to the beach a few times afterwards, making it their personal training area. One or two people would show up once in a while, but it was private for the most part. Kyouka tore off the last piece of duct tape from the roll as the setting sun bathed the beach in a warm orange glow. "You comfortable?" Kyouka asked.

"I have pillows duct taped around my body. I'm comfortable, so the real question is: Can I breathe?"

"...Can you?"

"U-Uh...I'll warn you when everything starts to look fuzzy. Why aren't you wearing pillows again?"

"You refuse to hit me, remember?"

"I hit back!"

Kyouka scoffed amusedly, "Sure. If you can call punching so light that it wouldn't even hurt a butterfly that is."

Izukur rubbed the back of his head and replied, "I don't actually want to hurt you, and it's more to teach you how to dodge."

"Some women would take offense to that, but my sparring partner is a guy that has a power that he can barely control that might turn me into nothing but a red splatter mark in the sand. Even without your quirk you're strong enough to probably break something, so…"

Izuku already had some combat training under his belt, so Kyouka learning at least the basics was his true priority. He would feel a lot more comfortable with truly sparring with her once she was at a high enough skill-level. Although sparring with Kyouka was helping him with spatial awareness in a fight...and it was helping him learn to not get distracted when he found his opponent very attractive.

Kyouka let her jacket fall off of her shoulders as she got into a fighting stance. Her fists up, her right hand closer to her shoulder and her left slightly extended out. "Ready?" Under the pillows, Izuku began to glow as he mirrored Kyouka. After revealing his discovery about his power to All Might, his mentor warned him to keep his power low. Percentages and such were still pretty vague, especially since Izuku had no true gauge of what his full power truly was. So, he kept his power to just the smallest little portion he could muster without his body stinging.

"Ready." Immediately, Kyouka sent quick jabs towards Izuku's chest and was blocked by the boy's arm. While distracting Izuku with her punches, her right jack shot out and jabbed into his side. He slightly jerked away from the vibrations, giving Kyouka an opening to throw a right hook into her sparring partner's body. The pillows, Full Cowl, and Izuku's sturdy body absorbed most of the impact, so it didn't slow him down. He batted away one of Kyouka's jacks coming directly for his shoulder and threw his own punch at the purplette. But, it seemed that it was what Kyouka was counting on. As his hand came into contact with the jack, it wrapped tightly around his wrist and yanked it away from his body.

She fired her other jack into Izuku's knee and vibrated it, his leg involuntarily failing him for a moment. The purplette quickly shoved Izuku on to his back, and she pinned him down with her foot on his forearm, her other jack holding down his other hand, and his arm on his chest. Izuku blushed at the closeness, but chuckled. "Y-You're already getting good at this. It's been less than a week since we started sparring like this."

Kyouka released her hold on Izuku and sat back on his pillow-covered chest. "I have a good teacher...plus, it helps that my opponent doesn't hit back."

"S-Sorry."

"Hey, I get it. But, promise me that whenever you feel comfortable with my progress that we fight for real. Okay?"

"Promise." Kyouka hopped off of her friend, and the two continued their training.

…

"Ugh." Izuku chuckled at Kyouka's groaning in the seat next to him. By the time they had entered the train, the sun had fully gone down and the moon was high. As they waited for the train to depart, the girl Izuku was pining for slumped down into the train seat and blew a raspberry. "You were the one getting beat up and somehow I'm the tired one."

Izuku lifted up the duffel bag filled with their pillows, "I had armor." Kyouka threw her arm over her eyes and slid down even further in her chair as Izuku laughed. "You're really getting good at this. I think what you should work on is the speed of your jacks. Although, how exactly does one make their earlobes go faster? Do yours have muscles or other additional body parts? How do you even move them anyway? Some people can wiggle their ears, so is it like-mmph." One of said jacks pressed against his lips, halting his speech.

"Thought I'd stop you before you did that for the whole train ride."

"Right, s-sorry."

Kyouka sat up in her chair relaxed into it, "Nothing to apologize for. I need that big brain of yours."

Izuku pressed his lips together and slightly shook his head, "You don't really need me."

"What? Of course I do."

"I help, sure. But, a lot of this stuff you're just figuring out on your own. A lot of the moves you use on me you made yourself. You're really smart."

Kyouka scoffed, but didn't say anything in response to his complement. It wasn't that she didn't think she was smart...Oh wait, yeah she did. Instead, Kyouka changed the subject. "So are you excited?"

"For what?"

"U.A! School starts next week. You know, the school we've worked so hard for. The school you literally broke your arm for. The school you took the entrance exam without any powers for. Our dreams officially start next week, and you've barely even mentioned it."

"Of course I'm excited. I've wanted to go to U.A since I was little. I guess I've just been distracted." Izuku put his head against the headrest and looked up towards the ceiling. "My life's been changing fast. I mean really fast. In the span of just over of month, I suddenly get a quirk, I talk to a girl for the first time, I-"

"Wait, what?"

"U-Uh, moving on. I get a best friend, I sang at a karaoke club, I get accepted into my dream school, _everything_ with your parents, I'm learning instruments, I learned how to somewhat control my quirk, one thing after another, and now I'm getting hit by a girl and her earlobes while having pillows duct taped to my body. It's a lot to take in. In a good way though."

Kyouka nudged him with her elbow and joked, "I'm noticing a lot of that has to do with me."

Izuku smiled warmly at her, "Yeah, actually. So much of it has to do with you." Kyouka blushed, shaking her head. Just before she could deflect the compliment again, Izuku cut her off. "After meeting you I can't imagine my dream without you in it."

A small smile graced Kyouka's lips as she looked up at Izuku. "You've gotta stop flooding me with compliments. I'm not used to it."

"Sorry, but i-it's true. I really don't want to think about what school-life would have been like if I didn't meet you in Recovery Girl's office. I mean, I already made a bad impression on a tall boy with glasses during my exam. Obviously Kacchan already hates me. What if they were both in my class? I think I might be cursed. But, I'm just really happy that I'm going to have you with me."

Kyouka smiled, "Same here."

"..._Woooow_."

"What!?"

"I say all of that, and all I get is a "same here"?"

The purplette's eyes widened in panic. "Wh-. Well, I-" Kyouka stopped talking when Izuku's mouth ever so slightly twitched upward. Her smile came back and her eyes squinted at her friend. "...You little jackass."

Izuku looked at her sheepishly, "You're a bad influence on me."

"I'm pretty sure you mean good influence."

He sighed, but chuckled. "You're right. I do."

The punk-rocker groaned as she leaned back into the chair, "Oh my God, you're so sappy." Knowing she was only joking, Izuku simply smiled and looked out of the train window and into the night. "I hope your mom isn't worried."

Izuku turned back to Kyouka, "Hm?"

"Your mom. It's pretty late, so I hope she's not too worried right now. Especially since our stop is closer to my home than yours."

Izuku shrugged, "It's fine. We've been out this late before. She knows that I'm with you, and as long as I send her a text every so often confirming that I'm alive she doesn't worry."

Kyouka laughed, "Confirming that you're alive?"

"Okay, she actually might be worried," Izuku said, laughing as well. His face suddenly looked a little somber, but quickly switched back to normal. "But, she worries about me every time I breathe. It'll be okay." Kyouka wanted to comment on his sudden mood switch, but it was so quick that it could've been nothing. She let it slide...for now. The subject at hand, however…

"When am I going to meet her anyway?"

Izuku suddenly went a little stiff, "Oh, u-uh I don't know. Why?"

"Come on, you've met my parents much to my dismay. It's your turn to be embarrassed. And she raised you, so she's gotta be at least somewhat as pure as you are."

Izuku fiddled with his fingers as he looked down at his feet. "I-I really don't know. It's just not something I've really thought about. Going to your house just makes more sense to me. More space, the instruments are there, your room isn't embarrassing like mine is either."

"...You do realize that by saying that I want to go to your house even more right."

"I do and now I regret everything." Kyouka laughed once more as the train finally left the station. The compartment was barren for the most part, only a few other people were sparsely spread out in other seats. Most of them on their phone or with headphones in.

"I know you said it's tough to share personal things with her. So I can wait. However, I am going to meet her at some point. It's gonna happen," Kyouka said, pulling out her phone and plugging one of her jacks in.

Kyouka put her other jack near his temple like how she did at Recovery Girl's office when they first met. "Ready to Die" by Andrew W.K began to play. As the intense music kicked in and Izuku sat in a slight shock at the lyrics. "Hm...Well, I didn't expect that. It's not exa-"

*_Zzzzz*_

Izuku froze as he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder and the jack on his temple fell down. He looked down to see Kyouka asleep on his shoulder. It was late, and training must've taken a lot of her. The real question was: "How the heck did you fall asleep to this music?" Izuku asked.

Obviously, he received no response from the resting girl. Izuku blushed, but he didn't freeze up as most would expect of him. Kyouka had slept on his back, so this was nothing compared to that.

It also helped that the beach wasn't the only time.

Not sleeping and Kyouka didn't exactly go well together. If she was really tired, her body simply clocked out until you woke her up or she woke up herself. And, they had a lot of training nights or simply hanging out until the stars were out. With the two usually being in close proximity to each other at all times, apparently her body had subconsciously decided that Izuku was its new favorite pillow.

…

**(15 Minutes Later)**

_'Okay Izuku, be...very...careful.'_

_*Jab*_

"Ow!" Izuku rubbed his side where Kyouka had once again stuck her jack into. "I didn't even wake you up yet!"

Kyouka rubbed her eyes as she lifted her head off of Izuku's shoulder. "I could sense it. We're here?"

Izuku stood from his train seat and stretched his arms out. "Yeah. C'mon, I'll walk you home."

He helped Kyouka from his train seat, sleep clearly still in her system. Izuku gathered their bag and threw the strap over his shoulder. He led an exhausted and fumbling punk-rocker out of the train station and on to the sidewalk for a short walk to her home.

"You really don't need to walk me home."

"Maybe not. But, I want to. Besides, you're exhausted and it's late. Who knows what could happen?"

Kyouka chuckled, "It's literally a five minute walk."

"I know. But, I've learned that a lot can happen in 5 minutes."

Kyouka yawned and wrapped her jacket tighter around herself. "I can handle myself."

"I just spent the last three hours getting beat up by you. Trust me, I know you can handle yourself. But, like I said, you're tired. And quirks and criminals make a scary combo."

The purplette gave a breathy laugh, "I guess I should've figured you were the protective type. I guess it's just another testament as to why you want to be a hero." Kyouka's eyes suddenly widened at her own words. "Huh. I just realized something."

"What?"

"We've never asked each other why the other wants to be a hero."

Izuku's eyebrows rose in realization, "Wow, you're right. I guess it never crossed my mind, which is odd for me."

"I'll go first," his female friend said as she put her hands in her pocket and looked down at her feet while she walked. "I want to make others smile, even when things are at their worst. I'm not like you. I'm not that optimistic or hopeful. All I want is to make others feel the way you do, make them happy and smiling...like right now," Kyouka said, seeing Izuku smiling at her from the corner of her eye. Every time Izuku thinks Kyouka just can't get any better, she threw something like that his way.

"That's amazing."

"It was actually pretty tough when I first told my parents about it. I thought they would be disappointed in me for not wanting to become a musician like them, but they were very supportive," Kyouka responded and turned back to Izuku. "So…?" she said, looking at her friend expectantly.

"Oh! My reasoning is actually a little similar to yours. At least one aspect of it. Well, obviously you know about my admiration of All Might. When I was a kid he was just the coolest thing in the world to me. Of course his powers are awesome, but that wasn't what drew me to him and heroism in general. He would save people, risk his life, and still do it with a smile on his face. A smile that shows that everything will be alright, because he is there. A smile that no evil can bring down. Helping people, being kind to others...as soon as I saw it, it was everything I wanted to be."

"Even when no one has ever shown you kindness?"

Izuku shrugged, "I learned a long time ago that no man is born equal. And when you're born on a lower pedestal, the ones on higher up can spit on you much easier. It was...rough. Some days were really bad. I don't know. I guess I just didn't want to fit the cynical mold that most have. There were moments when I remembered that life wasn't completely terrible. Besides, now that I have you, life is actually great. The best it's ever been, honestly." Izuku turned to Kyouka to see her looking at him in shock. "...W-What?"

"You...You are a force of nature."

"Force of-? What?"

"I don't think there's anyone else on this planet that can still stay optimistic after everything you went through."

"Y-You just have to wake up everyday and hope things get better. Sure, sometimes it stays the same...sometimes it gets worse. But, it paid off. I woke up one day, got a quirk, passed the U.A entrance exam, and I met you. It's a long road, but there's always something at the end of it."

"You really are a true optimist."

"Most people would call that an idiot."

Kyouka nudged his arm, "Well I'm not most people."

"That, you definitely are not."

Kyouka squinted her eyes and him with a smirk on her face, "Now what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing." Sometimes Kyouka truly didn't believe that someone like Izuku could exist. She even doubted All Might was as optimistic as Izuku was whenever he wasn't being a hero.

The two finally approached the Jirou residence and made their way to the front steps. Kyouka climbed on to the first step and turned back to Izuku. "I've created a monster."

"What happened to being a good influence?"

"You're already the purest thing alive. Anything I do just corrupts you."

Izuku shook his head, "That's not true. Not at all. I don't think you fully comprehend how amazing you are." Kyouka took in his words, and then looked down in thought. Maybe it was because she was so tired and her mind wasn't all there. Izuku didn't know. But, before he could turn around, Kyouka fell forward and landed against Izuku with her head on his shoulder and her arms around his neck. By fell, that meant she literally fell. Her toes were just barely on the front step of her porch, and Izuku was the only thing keeping her from falling face first on the concrete. "Why'd you do that!?"

Kyouka chuckled, "Because I knew you'd catch me. Just more proof that you're too pure. You're a really great guy. You know that, Deku?"

Izuku shakily out his arms around her, "I-I try to be."

"You're going to be the best hero. Screw what anyone else says." Tears began to flood into Izuku's eyes and a smile crept on to his face. "And, if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, give 'em this."

"...Wh-...Give them what?"

"Oh, right. You can't see it right now, but I'm pretending to flip them off."

Izuku laughed, "You really need to go to bed."

"Shut up, Pine Tree."

"And she's back." Izuku lifted her back on to the porch, but she kept him in place by putting her hands on his shoulders.

"I might be tired, but I meant it. All of it."

Izuku wiped his eyes and nodded. "I know. Thanks, Kyouka." At that moment, Izuku found one more thing he liked so much about Kyouka. She might be tough, teasing, doesn't take other people's crap, etc. But, whenever she allowed it to show, or whenever she thought someone was in need, she was soft. Kyouka turned so warm and comforting.

Of course, she was those things even when the situation didn't require it. From time to time she would slip up and become affectionate. Or, perhaps "slip up" was the wrong phrase. It was mostly because she truly was a naturally caring person. It just made Izuku feel special because he knew it was probably a side of her that nobody else had seen yet, besides her parents.

"You're going to make an outstanding hero, too, Kyouka. We'll do it together."

Kyouka opened her front door and stepped inside before looking back to Izuku. "That's the idea." With that, the door closed and Izuku was alone with his thoughts. The teen turned around and made his way back to the sidewalk to begin his journey home.

For the first time in his life, Izuku's couldn't wait for school to begin.

...

**(1 Week Later: First Day of School)**

"You have no idea how to tie that, do you?"

"..."

"Izuku?"

"Hm? What?" Izuku was shocked out of his stupor as he stood at the front door of Kyouka's house. His stupor definitely was not the result of seeing Kyouka in her school uniform and the fact that it looked great on her and showed off her slender porcelain legs.

NOT.

AT.

ALL.

Kyouka rolled her eyes and grabbed his tie, fixing it for him. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I know what you're going to do with him, and that's take a picture of your first day of school." The teens looked to see Kyoutoku and Mika walk up to them with the latter pointing her phone at them. "Smile." The camera clicked, and the mother looked down at the picture to see Kyouka simply looking at the camera with her signature bored glare, and Izuku with a nervous wobbly smile. "You know what? This is somehow the most fitting picture I could have gotten."

Their daughter groaned and turned Izuku around, pushing him out the door. "We're leaving."

"Have a good day!"

"B-Bye!" Izuku quickly yelled before Kyouka closed the door. The teens made their way to the train station, expressing their excitement for the start of school. Eventually, their destination was finally in sight as they walked through the front gates of U.A High School. "We've been here before, but this time I actually feel excited and not terrified."

"Me too. C'mon, let's find our classroom." Exploring through the halls of the school, Izuku thought he was in a dream. Kids with all kinds of quirks were everywhere. Each one more fascinating than the last. Soon enough, the duo found the classroom they were looking for. Kyouka whistled at the sight before them. "Damn. That's quite the door. But, the real spectacle is what's behind it. Let's hope it's not…" Kyouka slid open the door to see Bakugou being reprimanded by who she assumed was the boy Izuku mentioned. "...aaand it's the assholes."

"Maybe we can avo-...Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Kyouka looked back to see both boys were looking at Izuku. The tall one made his way over to the teens with very stiff movements, while Bakugou looked at Izuku with a mix of anger and confusion.

"Good morning! You and I have met before. I am Tenya Iida from Somei Private Academy."

"I-It's good to see you again. I'm Izuku Midoriya, and this is my friend, Kyouka Jirou."

Iida bowed to Kyouka, but turned back to Izuku. "Midoriya, during the entrance exam, you figured out the true nature of it while I did not. I apologize for my behavior towards you. You truly were the better candidate."

Kyouka leaned over to Izuku and whispered, _"What did you figure out?"_

_"I have no idea."_

"The plain-looking boy!" Izuku and Kyouka turned around with the former in surprise, and the latter with a quiet, low growl. "You got in! I should've known, since that punch was awesome. Thanks for saving me by way!"

"I-I should be the one thanking you for speaking on my behalf and all."

"Huh? How do you know about th-"

"If you're here to socialize, get out now." All eyes suddenly shifted towards the door to see a haggardly-looking man on the floor, in a sleeping bag, and drinking a juice pouch. The class began to murmur about the man before quieting down as he stepped out of his sleeping bag. "It took you all 8 seconds to quiet down. To anyone else who's going to waste that kind of precious time, you can get out, too. I'm your homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa. Change into your gym uniforms and meet me outside. No dallying."

As the class began to move out of the room, Kyouka turned to Izuku. "You know this guy?"

"Hm...He looks kind of familiar, but I can't put my finger on it."

"You two." Both teens jumped in surprise as Aizawa spoke to them. "What did I just say? Move."

"Yes, Mr. Aizawa," they said, moving out the door.

…

_'Strange way to start the first day.' _Kyouka inwardly chuckled to herself as she undid the final button of her shirt. She grabbed the jacket of her gym uniform and was putting it over her tank top when she looked around the locker room.

She looked around at all of the other girls, who were also changing into their uniforms. She saw the girl with the black ponytail, and then the pink girl with their shirts off. Then, she looked down at herself. She sucked in her cheek and bit into it while scowling. She sighed under her breath, "God-damn it."

"What was that?"

Kyouka quickly turned to see Ochako at the nearby locker. "Oh, uh nothing. Just thinking out loud."

"Oh, okay. You're Midoriya's friend, right? Uh, Kyouka Jirou was it?"

Kyouka nodded, "Yeah. And you're Ochako Uraraka, the girl he saved during the exam."

Ochako blushed and rubbed the back of her head, "He told you about that? Yeah, not my most shining moment. But, he was awesome! Took down that giant robot in one hit!"

"I've never actually seen him use his quirk like that. What was it like?"

Ochako began to excitedly tell the tale. "I was trapped under some rubble and the robot was gonna roll right over me. But, then Midoriya ran through the dust, and he jumped all the what up to the robot's head all the way above the buildings. And then he punched it so hard the head caved in, and the rest of it imploded in itself."

Kyouka smiled, "Deku's as heroic as they come. If only it didn't cause his arms to break."

Ochako looked at Kyouka confused. "Deku?"

"Oh! It's just my nickname for him...One of my nicknames. I actually have a ton of nicknames for him. I've lost count."

"B-...But, doesn't-"

"Deku mean useless? Sure does. Don't worry, to him it's not an insult. It actually means a lot to him."

Ochako nodded, "Hm, okay. I kinda like Deku actually. Sounds cute."

"Don't call him that." Kyouka froze at her response. It came out quickly with no filter. "Uh…I-It's sort of our thing. Best friends and all that."

Ochako smiled, not catching the slight forcefulness Kyouka's initial response had. "No worries, I get it. I don't want to impede on your friendship or anything. I would like to be friends with you guys though."

After composing herself, the purplette nodded. "Sure, that sounds great. We're not exactly the most social duo, so I'm glad making a new friend was easy. And, I should say thank you."

"For what?"

"For trying to give Izuku your points. He didn't need them in the end, but your gesture didn't slip his mind or mine. If he needed the points and you could give him yours, this is his dream school. He would've been thanking you for the rest of his life. And, I don't want to know what school would be like without him. So thanks. Seriously."

Ochako blushed and shook her head. "It was nothing. It was the absolute least I could do after what he did for me."

Kyouka zipped up her jacket and began walking towards the door. "It was still cool of you. I'll see you outside."

"See yo-"

"And stop calling him plain." Before the brunette could respond, Kyouka slipped out of the door hitting herself on the head for letting another comment slip out.

…

The new class all formed a large group out at the field as Mr. Aizawa approached them. "Alright class, line up. It's time for public humiliation."

"...What?" The class asked simultaneously.

"Instead of wasting our time at the opening ceremony, we'll be taking a quirk apprehension test. We'll be testing your skills through multiple exercises that you've done back during middle school. This time however, you're allowed to use your quirks. Bakugou, since you had the high score during the entrance exam you can be the first example." He tossed a softball towards the explosive blonde. "What was your softball pitch score in middle school?"

"67 meters I think."

"Stand on the platform and try it using your quirk this time." Katsuki did as he was told, chucking the ball as far as he could.

*******_BOOM*_**

The softball was shot off like a cannonball into the sky, a smoke trail behind it. Mr. Aizawa's tracker beeped with a score of 705.2 meters. Shouta nodded, "Good. Now, all of you head over to the running lanes. 50 meter dash is first."

Mina clapped her hands together, "This actually might be fun!"

Shouta lifted a brow towards the pink girl, "Fun? This isn't fun. Hero work isn't fun. It's dangerous, and the consequences of every action you take go into effect. So how about this? Whoever scores the lowest is expelled." The class immediately erupted in defiance of the choice, but Aizawa quickly replied, "If you have no potential, then you should go home. No potential is a death sentence when becoming a hero. Now get to the running lanes."

The class moved towards the track portion of the field. Izuku looked towards Kyouka. "Do you really think he'll expel someone on the first day?"

"Who knows? Don't worry though. We'll be fine."

"What makes you say that?"

With a smirk, Kyouka pointed towards the invisible girl, and a short grape-headed boy. "I don't mean to judge a book by its cover, but I think we'll be okay."

The students all took their turns as duos at the 50 meter dash with the most impressive being Iida at only 3.04 seconds. "Bakugou and Midoriya! You're up!"

Izuku grimaced, "Oh no."

Kyouka put her hand on his shoulder, "Hey, you've got this. Honestly, I can't wait to see the look on his face when he realizes you have a quirk."

"...He's gonna punch me."

She pushed him forward with a giggle, "Just go!" Izuku shakily walked up to the starting like and got into a runner's position. Katsuki glared at him from the side.

"H-Hi, Kacha-"

"Shut the fuck up."

"That's about what I was expecting."

Aizawa raised his timer, "On your marks!" Izuku took a deep breath and looked back at Kyouka.

She mouthed the words _'Kick his ass' _to him.

Well, Izuku found it as one of his sworn duties to never disappoint Kyouka. So…

Izuku breathed in as his skin began to glow, reddish-pink lightning sewing across his body until shifting into a bright green and bouncing and connecting back to his skin. Izuku rose his power until his body began to slightly sting. Even if it would slightly hurt, it would be worth it.

Katsuki whipped his head over to look at Izuku with wide eyes. "What the fu-"

"Get set!" Katsuki shook his head and readied himself, ignoring the anomaly to his left until he had won.

"Go!"

Izuku and Katsuki shot off from their spots. In only the first couple of seconds, it was clear that the Izuku was pushing ahead of Katsuki. Izuku crossed the finish line in only 3.76 seconds, and Katsuki at 4.13 seconds. Izuku stood tall and rubbed his arm, trying to ease the lingering sting in his body. "DEKU!" Izuku swung around to see Katsuki rushing towards him. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! WHEN'D YOU GET A QUIRK YOU ASSHOLE!"

"I-I-!" Izuku couldn't think of a response, and he didn't need one. With glowing red eyes, Aizawa had trapped Katsuki in his scarf and tied him up. "Y-... You're Eraserhead!"

Ignoring him, Aizawa continued, "Enough! If I get another act like that out of you, then I don't give a damn about the scores. You'll be immediately expelled without question. Do you understand?"

Katsuki stopped struggling and grunted out through grit teeth, "Yes, sir."

Aizawa released Katsuki and motioned back towards the class, "Now get back in the group, both of you. Each of you on opposite ends. Jirou and Koda, you're up." Izuku walked back to the group with his heart rate up, and turned to see Kyouka trying to hold her laughter.

Her amused expression made him feel calm, and Izuku couldn't help but smile a bit, too. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"Just a little. Wish me luck." The events ran like normal for the rest of the time. With the training Kyouka had gone under in the past month, thanks to Izuku, she finished the dash in just under 7 seconds at 6.85 seconds. With his quirk, Izuku scored 79 kg on the grip test, and Kyouka actually managed 38 kg. They both passed the sandbox, and the other events went by without too much of a hitch. Izuku was scoring very well in every event. The only one that his quirk didn't really help with was the toe touch. He managed to speed through the side steps and sit-ups.

Kyouka was extremely happy that her training was paying off. Her scores were far higher than they were at the beginning of her final year in middle school. Izuku's training regiment, as torturous as it was, really did work wonders in such a small amount of time. She had even managed one of the highest sit-up scores by jamming her jacks into the dirt ahead of her and using them to pull her up whenever she was beginning to tire. Soon, all that was left was the softball throw, excluding Katsuki. Kyouka had managed 82 meters by using her jacks like an old fashioned slingshot. Now it was Izuku's turn, and he looked nervous. "What's wrong?" Kyouka asked.

"What should I-I do? If I use my full power, I'll get a great score. If I don't it might not be enough."

Kyouka squinted at Izuku with confusion, "Dude, have you not been following any of your stats? You've gotten some of the best scores in the entire class on every single exercise. You'll be just fine taking the safe route on this one."

Izuku nodded and jogged his way up to the platform. It was simple. Just power up, wind back, have Mr. Aizawa grab your hand with his wrappings...Wait. Izuku looked back at Mr. Aizawa in confusion. "Wh-?"

"What are you doing?"

"Um, th-throwing the ball, sir?"

"And holding back."

Izuku tried to explain his situation. "You see, Mr. Aizawa, my quirk-"

"Breaks your bones, I know. I was at the entrance exam."

"So... you_ want _me to break my bones?"

"No. But, I don't want a student who's either weak, or so strong he's completely useless. Dire situations will require you to use you maximum. And then, even after that, you'll be useless. I need to see you be able to control some semblance of your full power and not be a glass canon. You can throw however you want, but consider that your first lesson."

Izuku looked back down at the ball and thought over what Mr. Aizawa said. _'He's right. Some situations will require my full power. And I'll have a max of two punches before I'm entirely useless. I need to know how to use my full power and still keep me in the fight. At least for a little bit longer...Or at least not break my arm entirely. Hm...entirely.'_

A lightbulb lit up in Izuku's mind, and he knew what to do. He pulled back his arm, his power flowing through his arm and up to his pointer finger. With all of the power his unpowered arm would allow, he threw the ball as hard as he could with his powered finger pushing off of the ball.

"SMAAAASH!" Dust and wind crashed into bystanders. Whenever the shockwaves finally stopped, the class looked over to see Izuku standing with a broken pointer finger. The teen clenched his fist and looked over to Mr. Aizawa who raised his tracker to show off the number of 705.3 meters. "Mr. Aizawa, I'm not sure about you, but I think this counts as some semblance of my power."

For the first time that day, Mr. Aizawa smiled. He nodded back to the school. "Head to the nurse's office. Get that fixed up."

"Can I see the scores first?"

"If you think you're up to it." Izuku nodded and walked back to the class. Many of them began to compliment him, much to his embarrassment. But, Izuku was really only focused on two reactions. Kyouka was looking at him completely dumbstruck, but was smiling. And Katsuki also looked dumbstruck, but looked like he might murder someone.

Yaoyorozu walked up to Izuku with freshly created medical tape. "Here, Midoriya. Just until you get to Recovery Girl."

"Oh! Th-Thank you!"

"I'll take that." Both turned to Kyouka who took the tape and began wrapping it around Izuku. She looked at him with a wide smile. "That. Was. Awesome. Stupid, but awesome."

Izuku smiled back, "Thanks. It was painful, but worth it."

"Really?"

Izuku seethed in pain as Kyouka secured the tape around his finger, "Nope. Not at all. Why did I do that?" Kyouka laughed as Mr. Aizawa walked over to the scoreboard.

"Here's the final scores." He clicked his remote to show off the names and numbers.

Izuku Midoriya

Momo Yaoyorozu

Shoto Todoroki

Katsuki Bakugou

Tenya Iida

Fumikage Tokoyami

Mezo Shoji

Mashirao Ojiro

Ejirou Kirishima

Mina Ashido

Kyouka Jirou

Ochako Uraraka

Koji Koda

Rikido Sato

Tsuyu Asui

Yuga Aoyama

Hanta Sero

Denki Kaminari

Toru Hagakure

Mineta Minoru

Izuku's jaw dropped when he saw his name at number one. Kyouka was surprised by her number, in a good way. Katsuki had a vein bulging on his forehead. And, Mineta dropped to his knees and screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

"By the way, no one's getting expelled."

"OOOOOOOooooo...What?"

Aizawa deviously smiled, "It was a logical deception to make you all do your best. Well, we're done here. You have some forms for you back in the classroom, and the teachers for your other classes will be in eventually. Midoriya, go fix that finger." With that, Aizawa began to leave the grounds. For a second, Izuku thought he saw All Might at the gate, but when he looked back he was gone. Izuku's attention was grabbed by Kyouka when she put her hand on his arm.

"C'mon, Cabbage Patch. Let's go get that finger fixed. And I suggest we move before Bakubitch can't hold himself back any longer."

Izuku looked back at Katsuki, and the blonde looked like he was about to explode. Pun not intended. "We should run." The duo broke into a sprint and ran into the school.

…

With his finger fixed, Izuku was now at lunch. He had managed to avoid Bakugou since the tests, and he was likely not to act up in public after Aizawa's warnings. So at least he was safe for now. He left the lunch line and searched the room for Kyouka. His eyes finally landed on her, and she saw him. The two began to walk towards one another, only for Izuku to be dragged by Kaminari towards a different table, and Kyouka to be dragged by Mina to a different table.

Izuku was dropped down at a large table where the 1-A boys, minus Katsuki and Shoto, were sitting at. He looked back at Kyouka to see she was in a similar situation, being forced to sit with all of the 1-A boys. "U-Uh, why did you drag me here."

"Because…" All eyes shifted towards Mineta, who sat at the head of the table with Kaminari and Sero at his side . "...we have a very important matter to discuss. It involves the 1-A girls."

The rest of the boys looked around in confusion. Sato raised his hand, "What about?"

"...We need to discuss just how hot they are."

"Ugh./No./I'm leaving." Those were the general words from most of the boys as they got up and proceeded to leave the table. Izuku, Sero, Kaminari, and Iida still sat at the table. Izuku stayed because he didn't know what to do. Iida stayed to reprimand the purple-haired boy.

"Mineta! That is vulgar and inappropriate conversation!"

Kaminari shrugged his shoulders, "C'mon Iida. Lighten up a little. We're complimenting them!"

"No, it's harassment!"

"So it's harassment for me to say that I think Uraraka is hot?"

"Yes!"

"Pfft...Wait, is it really?"

Mineta patted his friend's shoulder, "It's simply appreciating the females. So who do you think is the hottest?"

Kaminari furrowed his brow in contemplation, "I dunno man. I wanna say Yaoyorozu, but Uraraka and Mina are really pretty, too."

Sero jumped in, "Asui and Hagakure are nice."

Iida shook his head, "This is despicable. C'mon Midoriya. We shouldn't associate ourselves with such conversation." Izuku agreed and stood up. But, as he was collecting his tray, Kaminari spoke up.

"Who's the other girl. Purple hair? What's your opinion on her?"

Mineta shook his head, "Her? No, definitely not. Flat-chested, too skinny. Not for me." Izuku froze in his spot. His stomach began to bubble in a sudden wave of anger. He slowly turned his head to look at the three boys.

Iida turned back around to look at his friend. "Midoriya?" This caught the attention of the three boys, who turned to see the most terrifying death glare they had ever seen in their lives. "Midoriya!"

Izuku suddenly jumped out of his stupor and switched his gaze to Iida. "What?"

"Y-...Your tray is broken."

Izuku looked down to see his tray broken completely in two, some of his food on the table. "U-Uh...I-I gotta go." He quickly threw away the remains of his food and tray and made his way over to Kyouka's table.

…

**(A Few Minutes Earlier)**

"You wanna what?" Kyouka said, in disbelief.

Toru bounced in her seat, "We wanna talk about the boys."

Kyouka, along with Momo, lifted their brows in almost agitated confusion. "Seriously?"

Mina waved them off, "Oh come on. It'll be fun. It's just light-hearted talk to break the ice. For instance, who here thinks Todoroki is the hottest out of the boys?"

"I'm not doing this," Kyouka said, standing from her seat.

Momo nodded and began gathering her items, "I'll join you."

Mina grabbed on to their sleeves, keeping them from leaving. "No! Please stay! You don't have to participate, and I won't talk about Midoriya."

Kyouka stumbled for a second, but recovered. "Why would that matter?"

Mina and Toru looked at each other in confusion. "He's your boyfriend, right?"

"Wh-...I-...No!"

"Oh. Sorry, it just kinda seemed like it." Mina gasped, "Do you like him?"

"Of course I do. He's my best fri-"

"Don't you pull that. You know what I meant."

Kyouka blushed, "We-"

_*Snap*_

The girls all turned to figure out what the noise was, and they found Midoriya standing up at his table with his tray broken in half. They watched him look down in shock, awkwardly throw his food away, and start stiffly walking towards the door leading outside and motioning for Kyouka to follow him.

"I...I gotta go." Kyouka picked up her food and began following Izuku. Not without turning around and saying, "This isn't what it looks like."

…

Kyouka walked out the door to find Izuku sitting against the wall near the door. He raised his hand, "Hi."

"Hey." She slumped down next to him and leaned her head back. "First day not going as planned?"

"N-Not really. You?"

"Not in the slightest," she chuckled. "Alright, let's share." She placed her food out in between them.

"Oh, no. I shouldn't."

"I'm offering and you're hungry. I grabbed a second pair of chopsticks on the way out, anyway." Izuku smiled and reluctantly took them from her. "What happened over there?"

Izuku sighed, "They were being...boys. Hormonal teenage boys talking about girls. I guess I just really didn't like the conversation."

"Same here. But, I'm sure they're all nice enough people. It's the first day. Maybe someday we'll get better at this social stuff."

Izuku nervously laughed, "And if we don't?"

"I don't know about you, but I have a backup plan. He's this walking piece of broccoli that stutters, is super awkward, and yet can level a building in a single punch."

"And I have a punk-rock friend who acts tough, yet can't stay up past 9 pm to save her life."

"Wooow!"

Izuku chuckled, "Was that good?"

"Not great, but you're getting there." The two then sat in comfortable silence eating their food. After awhile, Kyouka said, "We should walk to the train station with Iida and Uraraka. They're definitely the ones we're closest to at the moment."

Izuku nodded in agreement. "So, two new friends? That's two more than I thought I would make today." The two laughed and settled down once more. Soon, Izuku felt a weight on his shoulder. _'Did she seriously just fall asleep?'_

Izuku looked down, about to laugh, but paused when he saw Kyouka's eyes open. "Is this alright?"

"...Y-Yeah...definitely."

So, all in all, not a bad first day.

A pretty damn good one.

**A/N: It makes literally zero sense that Izuku got last in canon. He would've beat at least 4 or 5 of the people ahead of him. These are regular physical test, but with powers. Most of their quirks don't even help them in that situation. With Full Cowl, Izuku would've averaged out to first place. **

**Also, I imagine Koda asking a bird to carry his softball for him, giving him a great score.**


	8. Mental Blocks

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I'm kinda going through some stuff right now. And it somehow has nothing to do with the chaos the world is in right now. **

**I'm just going to go ahead and say now that the Izuku vs Katsuki fight is actually pretty quick and doesn't reach the same level of magnitude as the canon one does. I have my reasons though**. **For the future that is.**

**Sorry if it disappoints you.**

"Bye Mom!" Izuku opened the door to start his second official day of U.A. The first day had been...strange.

Not bad. Just strange.

He had actually made friends. Granted, it was only two people, but that was a major improvement by his standards. He was just glad they liked Kyouka. If either Uraraka or Iida took some sort of dislike to her, then Izuku wouldn't have been particularly interested in their friendship. He would've done his best to make sure everyone got along. But, if it somehow came down to the group splitting, it was obvious which direction Izuku would've gone.

It was actually a little odd, because Izuku almost felt it was Kyouka who didn't like the other two. Well, more like the other one. It wasn't Iida that he noticed she acted a little differently around. It was Uraraka.

Whenever the brunette came around, which admittedly was very little since they had only known her for a single day, Kyouka seemed to get just the slightest bit tenser.

It was really noticeable on the group's walk to the train station after school. Instead of hanging limply on her shoulders, her jacks were always moving around. Izuku had no real evidence to support him. He was just going to have to ask Kyouka about it himself.

If Uraraka had said something, then Izuku wanted to know what it was and why it made Kyouka so on edge. Was it a threat? Uraraka certainly didn't seem threatening.

If it was actually a problem, Izuku would do everything in his power to make peace.

How hard could it be to fix the relationship of two people who barely know one another?

"Oh, Izuku! Before you go, a letter from your father came in the mail!"

...Oh yeah, pretty damn hard.

Izuku sighed and rolled his shoulders back, "I'll read it when I get back."

From her seat on the couch, Inko didn't need to see her son to know he had a disinterested expression. Her heart hurt at the thought of it, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get anything out of him.

Being overly emotional at times ran in her bloodline. But, at the same time Izuku could be sealed up tighter than Tartarus. There were just some things that Izuku didn't want out, and they were going to stay that way unless he said otherwise.

However, Izuku wasn't one to change his mind often.

"Alright. I'll leave it on your bed. Be safe! Love you!"

"Love you, too." Izuku walked out the door and closed it behind him. He leaned back against the door and ran his hand down his face. He didn't need to read the letter. It was just generic cookie-cutter questions with money paperclipped to the paper, just like every time.

Izuku had passion for a lot of things. It was just a shame that he felt so empty whenever he got a letter from his father abroad.

He appreciated everything the man did for them. But, Izuku was no liar. So he couldn't lie and say he felt any genuine love for the man like he did for his mother.

He made his way down the steps of his apartment building, making his daily trek to Kyouka's house. It was odd. He had barely known Kyouka for 2 months, and yet he felt like he knew her better and had a stronger connection to her than his dad.

True, he had latched onto Kyouka like a koala to a tree near instantly out of social ineptitude (and attraction). But, his friendship with her was so strong that it was impossible to not draw some sort of comparison.

Although, his relationship with Kyouka was entirely different from the relationship he should've had with his father. He didn't have a father figure. Well, besides All Mi-...

Izuku paused his train of thought and shook his head. That was an entirely different can of worms that he didn't feel like opening just then. Izuku cleared his mind and made his way to the train station. He didn't have the time to focus on his father. He wasn't there, and Izuku needed to focus on the things right in front of him. Like, relationships he could actually improve.

Like his newfound friendship with Uraraka and Iida.

Or finally getting Kyoutoku to calm down his "Overprotective Father" act.

Or maybe actually grow a pair and get together with Kyouka.

Damn his low self-esteem.

…

Kyouka closed her eyes as the hot water ran over her body for the last time before she turned off the water. Showers were a very mixed bag to her. On one hand, she absolutely loved how they felt. The only thing more relaxing to her was listening to music. So one could only imagine how long she spent there whenever she played songs from her speaker on the sink counter.

However, she hated when they ended. Of course, it meant she could no longer experience the euphoria of hot water and steam. But, it also meant she would have to look at her worst enemy.

Kyouka slid the glass door over and looked across the bathroom to see her nemesis.

The mirror.

"Ugh." Luckily she took hot showers with the door closed, so fog completely covered the reflective material. Kyouka quickly grabbed her towel and began drying herself off. Once she was done, she wrapped the towel around herself and grabbed her moisturizer as she walked into her bedroom. She looked over at her desk and grimaced. She still had the mirror on her make-up table. Averting her eyes, Kyouka walked over to her bed and picked up her uniform. Suddenly, she heard her phone vibrate. Picking it up from her nightstand, she didn't even try to guess who was texting her.

_ The One I Have Far Too Many Nicknames For: _ On my way over.

Well, that certainly brightened her mood. He always seemed to do that somehow.

Things between the two of them were at an all time high. Although, it seemed that every day that passed brought their relationship higher than it was before. But, Izuku was...a temporary boost.

He always made her feel so much better whenever he was around. But, whenever Izuku left her mind just reverted right back to its normal self. Her greenette would always build upon a foundation, and every night it would fall. Kyouka really didn't feel like falling back into a pit of heart-clenching, hollow-gut, tightened lung emotions today. It was becoming tiring. Her gaze couldn't help but look back towards her mirror. She remembered all of the compliments Izuku had thrown her way during their first outing together. She could remember the look in his eyes when he saw her. That day was actually one Kyouka had been thinking about more and more over the last few days. The green-haired dweeb lodged himself into her brain, and weaved his way down to her heart.

She had already accepted it awhile back, but she hadn't actually said it fully to herself.

Damn it, she was crazy about him.

Of course, that knowledge was already known. There was absolutely no way to deny it to herself of anybody else after the previous day. The real question was: _ 'Am I going to do anything about it?' _Mika had already told her to go for it, but it wasn't that simple. Kyouka wasn't dumb. She knew that her relationship with Izuku had already reached the point of beginning to blur the line between friendship and dating.

It was more than obvious during lunch the previous day.

Kyouka had put her head on his shoulder, the two had simply sat in what was most likely the first long comfortable silence in either of their lives. Kyouka didn't even know silence _ could _ be comfortable. She thought it was just a myth. But, lo and behold, they had simply sat against the wall. No jokes. No teasing. Just sitting and being happy in one another's presence.

She was closer to Izuku than she had ever been with anyone else. There were even times where she felt like she acted more herself with him than her own parents.

Which for most would be very strange due to the fact that she had only known Izuku for just about two months. It was odd to her as well. But, Izuku just felt like someone who you could trust with your life.

Well, it helped that one actually could trust Izuku with their life since he would rush in to save the day in a heartbeat. And, Izuku and her were so attached from the beginning. For a couple of teenagers who were extremely socially inept, one so much so that he thought a good icebreaker was asking if the other liked jazz, she felt that they were more than successful in their relationship.

The fact that he was an adorkable nerd/hunk was simply icing on the cake.

If Izuku could make her use the word "adorkable" twice, that had to mean something.

Izuku was just as trusting to her as she was to him. Kyouka had no problem telling him anything on her mind...for the most part. Her bodily issues were something that she didn't think she would ever tell anybody. It was just one of those situations where she believed she just had to suck it up and carry on. What exactly was she going to do about it anyway?

She only had two things to hope for. The first thing was that her body wasn't done developing yet and she still had room to grow. She was only 15, so there was still plenty of time for her body to undergo another big change. The second was only if the first possibility didn't happen. Her hope was that Izuku was already satisfied with how she looked.

On one hand…

Kyouka sat down at her desk, tightening her towel around her. She looked into the mirror and frowned. '_ I don't see that happening.' _

And on the other hand, Izuku had expressed before that he thought she was good-looking. Hell, he had blatantly said multiple times that she was attractive while using many different adjectives to do so. It was just so hard to believe him. Her own mind was making her take every compliment with a grain of salt as to not get her hopes up. Besides, Izuku had only ever seen her dolled up in the best things she had.

"UuuuuUUUUGH!" Kyouka slammed her head on her desk and rubbed her temples. "What the hell am I doing? I'm sitting here looking into the damn mirror and pondering about if a boy likes me, when it's so freaking obvious that he does! How far have you fallen, Kyouka?"

Yeah, she knew.

Izuku wasn't exactly subtle about it. And, to be perfectly honest, she knew she wasn't either.

Did Izuku know, too? Probably not. Izuku may be a very intelligent young man, but he could be ignorant about a lot of things. They literally held hands on their first official hangout.

It didn't really matter if he didn't think the feelings were reciprocated. If Kyouka was the one to say something first, he'd realize then. So, Izuku wasn't the problem.

Her own self-esteem was the issue. Every time things began to look like it was heading one way, it immediately made her want to turn back. Her insecurity created its own reality most of the time. Kyouka could see one thing or opportunity, and then her brain decided that it was probably nothing.

She lifted her head back up and slid her hands down her face. "I'll just do it right now." She quickly grabbed her phone and opened up her texts. Kyouka pressed her thumbs to the phone to begin typing.

Well, she would've if her hands hadn't decided to simply lock up on her.

"C'mon thumbs. Type!" Her thumbs didn't budge. Kyouka tossed her phone away and put her head in her hands. In the blink of an eye her daily chest pain came back. Her stomach felt hollow and her mind became cloudy. She couldn't. Fear and insecurity ambushed her heart once more. Every action that passed through her head was second guessed. She had lost control of her body, making zero shadow of a doubt into a literal veil of darkness.

She hadn't felt such discomfort and uncertainty since she tried to tell her parents that she didn't want to be a musician. In fact, it was somehow worse. It had taken her three years to finally power through her insecurity to tell her parents she wanted to be a hero. And, if this was somehow worse…

Kyouka shook her head. It wasn't the right time or method anyway. A random text on the morning of their second day of school, a time where their attention needed to be fully focused on their education? She was actually glad she chickened out. That was _ not _ the way she wanted to confess.

Would she even be able to make the relationship work? Izuku was...well, Izuku. He would do absolutely everything in his power to make sure Kyouka was the happiest girl alive. Kyouka just wasn't sure if she could bring as much to the table as Izuku would.

Whether it be emotionally…

She looked down at herself, not even bothering to remove her towel to look.

...or physically.

Besides, if today was anything like their first, then she needed her wits about her. Oddly enough, Izuku would help. Once he arrived at her doorstep later, he would be able to clear her mind and help her feel better. Her thoughts wouldn't overcome her with him around.

She plugged her jack into her phone, turning up _ "House of the Rising Sun". _Kyouka cracked her knuckles and stood up, making her way towards her uniform. "Suck it up, Kyouka."

…

"So what crazy bullshit do you think they'll have us do today, Mop-Top?" The two teens walked through the front doors of U.A, making their way towards their classroom.

"Oh, well I-I don't know." Kyouka side-eyed Izuku, his expression was a bit strange.

"Hey, you alright?"

Izuku ran a hand through his hair, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm fine, it's just...I got a letter from my dad today."

Kyouka sucked in her cheeks, instantly changing her demeanor. "What did it say?"

"I never opened it. But, I already know what it says. It's just the same old stuff with money attached to the paper. How was school? Make any new friends? Et cetera, et cetera."

Kyouka put a hand on his back, "It sounds to me like he's trying to learn more about you."

"One would think that, but what you don't realize is that those are the exact same questions I've been answering since I was five. I don't really see the point." Kyouka sighed, not exactly knowing what to say. Izuku was always so hopeful and persevering. But, when it came to his dad, it was almost like he had given up. Like he was tired of putting any energy towards Hisashi and decided that his efforts were better suited elsewhere.

Which, from a certain perspective, sounded practical.

Why continue to linger on someone who's never there, when you could be totally focused on the loved ones who are around? On the other hand, Izuku wasn't the type of person to just excommunicate somebody. Izuku shook his head, "Can we talk about this later? I would much rather just focus on school right now."

Kyouka nodded, "Okay. I'm not going to act like I can fully understand it, so all I'll say is I'm here for you."

Izuku cracked a genuine smile, "I know." They finally made it to the class with Izuku holding open the door for Kyouka. As soon as they both entered, Ochako and Tenya saw their friends and waved them over to their desks where they sat.

...Buuut, Mina grabbed onto Kyouka's arm and dragged her back towards her desk where Tooru stood.

Izuku chuckled as he waved to her, "I guess I'll talk to you in a minute."

"No! Save me now!" It was too late. The pinkette had already plopped the punk rocker down in the desk next to Mina's. Kyouka's bored glared intensified as she gazed at her kidnappers. "You both remember that I've only known you for 24 hours, right? So, forgive me if I'm not exactly jumping at the chance to talk to you about my love-life."

Mina nodded in understanding, "I know. I know. I actually just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I love myself some gossip, but I don't wanna force my way through someone's boundaries." Mina smirked, "However, I'll always offer my help if you ever desire it."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a stereotypical teenage girl trying to act out the sleepover scene from _ "Grease". _I…" Kyouka's eyes traveled past Mina to see Izuku talking to Iida and Uraraka.

Uraraka was getting _ awfully close _ while excitedly talking about something.

Mina followed Kyouka's line of sight and smirked, "Like I said, I'll help anytime you need it."

The purplette stood up from the chair and began walking over to her friends, but All Might suddenly burst through the door. **"I AM HERE, WALKING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" **Everyone immediately quieted down and quickly moved to their seats. Kyouka looked back at Izuku's desk to see him excited, but not surprised like everyone else was.

She gave him a knowing look that asked, _ 'Did you know he'd be here today?' _Izuku merely shrugged innocently. How Izuku knew that today was the day that All Might would show, she didn't know. But, he was the ultimate fanboy. So, she just had to assume he had his sources.

**"Alright everybody! I hope you're all ready for your second day of school, because today we're doing something very special! Today we'll be doing…" ** He paused for dramatic effect. **"BATTLE TRAINING!" ** Everyone perked up in their seats, most noticeably Katsuki who suddenly grew an enormous and terrifying smile. **"But, you're going to need these!" ** Shelves of metal cases suddenly popped out of the wall, each one labeled with a number based on their desk number. **"Once changed, head on out to Ground Beta! AWAY I GO!"** The hulking blonde man sprinted out of the classroom, leaving the students to grab their suitcases and change.

The first out of the room was Katsuki, grabbing his case and sprinting after All Might with his sadistic still on his face. Everyone else excitedly followed him, Kyouka and Izuku lagging somewhat behind. Kyouka smiled at him, suitcase in hand. "Let's hope my help in the redesign didn't make you look too stupid."

"I-I'm just hoping that they were able to actually make your tech. We did send in our forms a little last minute."

"I'm sure it'll be fine...I still can't believe you kept the ears though."

"They're n-not ears!"

Kyouka raised her hands in defense, "Whatever you say. C'mon, let's go."

…

_ 'What on Earth am I looking at?' _ Kyouka looked around the locker room to see every one of the other girls in skin tight outfits. Which wasn't the weird part since lots of heroes, whether male or female, wore tight outfits. It was the fact that Kyouka was literally the only one whose costume wasn't like that.

And they all looked really good.

Ochako and Tsu looked a little embarrassed, but looked great.

Mina was clearly proud of how she looked in her jumpsuit.

Tooru was literally naked…Or was she even there?

And Momo...Kyouka didn't even know if what she was wearing was legal.

Kyouka looked down at her loose-fitting pants and oversized shirt. It wasn't that she exactly_ wanted _to wear that sort of stuff. She liked at least some breathing room instead of being trapped in some sweaty unitard.

She liked her costume. It was even more special due to the fact that Izuku helped her design it, at least partially. However, as she looked at the other girls in their outfits, it emphasized in her mind how she thought she looked...lacking.

Kyouka shook her head, rolling back her shoulders and closing her eyes. She whispered, _ "Izuku likes it, so it's fine. I like it, so it's fine. I look fine." _

She closed her locker and began walking out the door while fastening the last of her gear into place, hardly believing a word of what she said.

…

"You look amazing!" The purplette turned around to see her friend walk out of the entrance tunnel.

She couldn't help but chuckle, "And you still look like a rabbit."

Izuku stood before her with the basic original design still mainly present. He still had his green jumpsuit with white lines running down the arms and torso, his red shoes, and the white pads between the neck and shoulders.

But, the light green was replaced with a forest green ("To go along with your pine tree hair," Kyouka had said) and his kneepads and elbow pads also had a white lines running down their centers. He had black shoulder pauldrons with a black strap across his chest keeping them together. They too had a large white accent line down the center. His utility belt had black material connecting the pouches.

No matter how hard Kyouka tried to persuade Izuku, he was persistent in keeping his cowl, even if he probably was never going to put it on. She was just happy that she convinced him to get rid of the teeth on his mouth guard.

His white gloves had hard plastic on the knuckles. Kyouka had persisted that it would make his hits harder and prevent bruising. Izuku was afraid of hurting someone more than intended. But, Kyouka eventually won in the end with the argument of Izuku already having a power that can obliterate someone with the flick of his finger. And, the only amount of power he could control wouldn't be able to take down the really big bad guys. So, some hardened knuckles weren't exactly going to detriment him.

"But, you do look a lot cooler than originally...Could use more black though."

Izuku chuckled, "I'll think about it. But, look at you!" The purplette stood black pants, a peach shirt with tears at the bottom. Her original black jacket was replaced with a midriff black leather jacket with a buckle at the top and bottom, a purple soundwave design running down her left arm. She still had her speaker boots, but along with them were red speaker gauntlets and headphones. "You look so awesome!"

Kyouka blushed, "Than-"

"Nice costumes you guys!" The duo turned to see their duo turn into a quartet. Iida looked like a walking engine...which sort of went against him being a speed demon when she thought about it, him wearing heavy armor and all.

And Ochako marched up to them wearing her costume, and that was where Kyouka began to worry again. She hadn't even thought about the fact that one of the girls wearing a skintight outfit would be near Izuku all of the time. Ochako rubbed the back of her head embarrassed, "I should've been more specific on my forms. This costume is skintight."

Kyouka deadpanned, _ 'Thanks for pointing that out.' _She looked over to Izuku, her heart slightly beating in slight nervousness. Izuku...didn't even care. In fact, Kyouka was pretty sure Izuku hadn't even looked any other girl's way. She could already fill a swimming pool with the amount of saliva the grape-headed kid and the Pikachu-looking guy had drooled out when Momo walked out of the tunnel.

_ 'Izuku, you're so strange.' _

It was probably only a matter of time. All it took was a quick glance and Izuku would be all over that bubbly brunette in days time. Kyouka grimaced and mentally slapped herself. _ 'No. He's not like those guys.' _ She glanced at Uraraka and her costume once more, and then down at herself. _ '...But, I'm not like her.' _

"You okay, Kyouka?"

Kyouka jumped in surprise, Izuku looked right at her. "Y-Yeah, I'm good. Just a little nervous."

"I thought that was my schtick." She nudged his side, both chuckling.

From afar, Toshinori waited for the rest of the class to arrive on the battlefield. He watched as his pupil was socializing with a group of other students, happy that Young Midoriya was breaking out of his comfort zone a little. There was one strange thing, however.

Who was the girl?

Not Young Uraraka. He remembered the young girl from Izuku's entrance exam and how she tried to give him her points. But, who was the purple-haired girl? Midoriya had been talking to her during their quirk apprehension tests, too. Normally, Toshinori wouldn't have really questioned it. In fact, he would've been downright elated. Izuku getting over his fear of social interaction, especially with girls? Fantastic! But, this quickly? Did Izuku already know this girl from somewhere? It didn't seem likely since as far as Toshinori knew, Izuku didn't have any friends.

...Now that Toshinori really thought about that, he realized he should probably talk to Izuku about his social issues at some point.

If Izuku somehow did know this girl from before starting U.A, why didn't his pupil tell him? Toshinori knew he had been busy getting ready for U.A, and that he and Izuku hadn't been able to really meet up for awhile. Toshinori just thought that Midoriya would be jumping at the chance to tell his mentor that he made a friend. Midoriya's focus was also _ completely _on Kyouka. He did respond to Uraraka and Iida whenever they spoke, but the greenette would always revert right back to focusing on Kyouka. The same went for the purplette.

It was like they were in their own little world, just barely communicating with the outside for short intervals. All Might watched as the cycle went on, then seeing Kyouka laugh at something Izuku said. Izuku grew a heavy blush as he watched her laugh.

_ 'Ooooooh...Young Midoriya, my boy, I'm honestly surprised. I didn't expect this, especially not so soon in the year.' _The last of the class finally came out, not allowing All Might to think about it any longer. But, he was determined to ask Izuku about it later.

**"Looking sharp everyone!" ** Everyone turned their attention towards their teacher as he began to explain the training they would be doing. Kyouka sort of zoned out as the rest of the class began asking question after question. She was only brought out of her daydreaming when All Might was suddenly in front of her holding a box. **"Your turn young lady."** She reached inside of the box and grabbed a piece of paper with the letter "G" on it.

"Hey Midoriya! We're partners!" Kyouka turned to see Ochako excitedly bounce up to Izuku, both of them holding pieces of paper with the letter "A".

Kyouka blew a raspberry and rolled her eyes, _ 'Wow, thanks universe. You're really helping me out here. What next?' _ Someone tapped her shoulder, and she turned around to see the Pikachu guy smiling at her while holding up a piece of paper with another "G". _ '...Fuck you, universe.' _

Izuku looked back at Kyouka and internally grimaced. It was the guy that was friends with Mineta, perving on the rest of the girls. Well, until they insulted Kyouka.

...Okay, Kaminari wasn't the one that said those things about her. But, he didn't exactly disagree. He didn't particularly know Kaminari all that well, but yesterday was enough for Izuku to know that he didn't like Kyouka being around him. At least it was better than her being paired up with Mineta. Izuku felt really bad for Momo being paired up with him. _ 'Just great. What next?' _

**"Alright! Team A is the heroes and Team D is the villains!"**

...He was facing Katsuki.

While his classmates couldn't hear it, Izuku was internally screaming.

…

"You okay there, Midoriya?"

Izuku looked over to Ochako, who had concern etched onto her face. They were sitting outside of the test building, using their prep time to memorize the building's blueprints. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous about going up against Kacchan. I'm sure Iida will be formidable, too. We just need to be careful."

"Kacchan? You mean Bakugou, right? The one that was a jerk to you...Well, basically to everyone, but mostly to you."

Izuku nodded, "Kaachan may be a…Okay, he's a complete asshole. But, no one can deny his skills and tenacity are amazing. He's stronger and more confident than me."

Ochako pursed her lips and tilted her head, "I'd say his confidence is actually a bad thing at this point."

"True, but he still has so much over me. However, it just makes me even more driven to beat him."

Ochako put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, smiling bright. "He can say whatever he wants, we'll beat him." Izuku smiled back and nodded, putting his cowl on and beginning to walk into the building.

…

Back in the observation room, Kyouka squinted at the television screen as she watched the interaction go down between her two friends. She knew it wasn't actually anything to be worried about. Hell, she knew Ochako wasn't a threat to begin with.

It was just...difficult.

It was difficult to not feel like her stomach was twisting around. Kyouka wasn't someone who got jealous easily. She had a lot of things that others sadly didn't have, and she was grateful. Izuku was one of those things.

She just didn't think about the fact that she would have to share.

No one told her just how much she would have to share, though. Maybe she could have 95% percent of him, and everyone else could have the rest. That seemed fair to her.

"Hey, so you and Midoriya know each other, right? Like, before U.A?"

Kyouka turned her attention to Kaminari, who stood next to her. "Uh, yeah. He's my best friend. Why?"

"Nothing. Just wondering." Kyouka suddenly noticed that Denki had grown somewhat nervous at her answer. "...So, uh, by any chance did Midoriya mention why he left the cafeteria yesterday?"

Kyouka was suddenly suspicious, "Actually, he did mention something about not liking the conversation. Something about hormonal boys talking about girls."

"O-Oh. Well, I can't imagine why."

Kyouka smirked, "Did you know that my quirk gives me heightened hearing? For instance, I can hear someone's heartbeat stutter when they lie."

"...I see. U-Uh...Oh! Would you look at that! Bakugou's about to attack Midoriya!" As much as Kyouka knew it was Denki's way of avoiding the conversation, she also realized that he was correct. Katsuki had just tried to sneak attack the duo. Izuku had jumped out of the way, grabbing Ochako as he went.

…

"Nice dodging, Deku."

Izuku took down his now half torn cowl and stood up straight. _ 'Of course he'd come right for me. Just as planned.' _

Katsuki's sadistic smile became wider as he approached Izuku. "I still don't know how you got a quirk or got into U.A, but I guess it doesn't matter right now. You're still Deku. I'll mess you up just enough to not get disqualified!"

The blonde threw a right hook at Izuku, only for the greenette to power up Full Cowl and slide into his opening. He grabbed Katsuki's arm, putting it over his shoulder and heaving the blonde over him.

His powered up body's new speed and strength allowed for a quicker and harder take down. Katsuki slammed into the ground, the tile cracking underneath him. The blonde gasped as all of the air left his lungs.

…

**(The Observation Room)**

"Hell yeah!" While most were surprised and invested in the fight, a few heads did turn towards Kyouka's outburst. Namely Denki, Mina, and All Might. Kyouka crossed her arms and looked away with a small blush.

…

**(Back at the Fight)**

"Uraraka, go! You know what to do!" The brunette nodded, running away from the two and heading towards her goal. Izuku turned back to Katsuki, struggling to stand up as he coughed. "You always lead your fights with a right hook. I've seen it enough to know." Katsuki's glare intensified as he looked Izuku in the eye. "I've analyzed so many heroes, including you. All of it written down in the notebooks you thought were so worthless. I'm not...I _ refuse _to be your worthless punching bag anymore! Someone very important to me told me that no matter what I think of myself, I'm not useless. Not anymore. You're gonna see exactly what I'm made of, and what I can be. You can keep calling me Deku, because that's a compliment. I'm Deku: The Hero that can do anything!"

He couldn't see it, but Kyouka was watching him with a wide smile.

"You spout all of that stupid crap, yet you're still scared. It pisses me off!"

Izuku took a deep breath and moved his shoulders back. He thought about Kyouka's words to him whenever she changed the meaning of Deku. He remembered everything she had ever said about him. He looked Katsuki in the eyes, brought up his fists, and widened his stance.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore."

Was that a lie?

Just a little. But, that was a lot better than before a couple months ago.

"The fuck did you just say to me?"

"I'm not afraid of you anymore! I've always said I never wanted to compete against you." Izuku crouched down, ready to leap. "I lied!"

Izuku rushed at Katsuki, his body much faster than normal. Katsuki jumped at Izuku to blast him, but the greenette dived down and avoided him. Katsuki blasted forward, propelling himself back at Izuku. The hero didn't have time to dodge, just barely having time to cross his arms over his chest in an attempt to block. In midair, Katsuki swiveled around and blasted Izuku back.

Deku fell on his back and slid down the hallway until he slammed into the wall.

Katsuki sprinted towards Izuku, readying his next attack. The greenette jumped up to meet him, blocking a jumping kick from the blonde. Suddenly, Katsuki felt something wrap tightly around his leg. He suspected it was Izuku trying to grab onto him. So he blasted him in the chest, sending Izuku sprawling backwards.

**"** ** _Bakugou has been captured!"_ **

Katsuki stopped in his tracks, yelling at the intercom. "What the fuck are you talking about!"

** _"First, language. Second, check your ankle."_ **

Katsuki looked down to see the capture tape tied around his ankle. "Wh-...WHAT!" He thought back to the small fight that had happened. The kick. That freckle-faced bastard had tied the tape around him in that split second.

...No.

...Fuck. That.

Izuku smiled to himself. If it wasn't for his new speed, he never would have been able to tie the tape around Katsuki.

** _"Young Bakugou, please exit the building and head on back." _ ** Katsuki didn't move. ** _"...Young Bakugou?"_ **

"RAAAAH!" Katsuki had suddenly rocketed towards Izuku, explosions propelling him forward. Izuku's eyes widened as Katsuki tackled Izuku through the wall. The two tumbled through the dust and rock, stopping with Izuku on his back and Katsuki above him.

Izuku struggled in Katsuki's grip, the blond's hands burning his chest. "What're you doing, Kaachan?!"

"You...You...You can't win! You never fucking win! You're just a useless Deku!"

"Thank you."

"...What?!"

_ *Crack* _

Izuku slammed his fist into Katsuki's face, sending the blonde away. Izuku slowly got up while clutching his chest, still in pain from the tackle and the burns. "I told you, Deku was a compliment."

"Gggrah! I bet you had so much fun hiding your quirk from me all those years! You're supposed to be nothing! A pebble! A bug I can crush! You've been mocking me for all those years."

**"** ** _Young Bakugou, what are you doing! You're captured! You're no longer permitted to fight! STOP THIS AT ONC-"_ **

"It's fine!" All Might stuttered at Izuku's shout. "You said this was a simulation. Well, villains escape custody all the time."

** _"This isn't part of the simulation!"_ **

Kyouka suddenly shoved All Might out of the way, grabbed the microphone, and then All Might's earpiece, "Izuku, you know I believe in you and all. But, this isn't exactly the time to suddenly have a burst of confidence."

"It'll be fine. You can't stop him anyway. This needs to happen. And you're wrong Kaachan. I was never mocking you. But, I beat you here, fair and square. If you really want to see just how wrong you are about me then...th-then...then come at me!"

Katsuki shot up, putting his finger in the pin of his gauntlet. "You wanna fucking fight me?" His grin widened, "..._ Good." _

** _"Young Bakugou, if you pull that pin, then the consequences will be severe! I can almost guarantee you won't be returning to this school tomorrow!"_ **

Katsuki paused, his gaze never left Izuku. Everyone was actually surprised that it was taking him so long to actually contemplate the ultimatum he was given. But, soon Katsuki lowered his arm, turning around and walking away in silence. While there was still anger on his face, there was sort of a dead look in his eye. As soon as he was out of sight, Izuku let out a breath of relief and put his hands on his knees. "O-Oh thank goodness. Why did I do that?"

_ "Midoriya? What's going on down there?" _

Izuku pressed a finger to his earpiece, responding to Ochako. "Uh...Something that I'll likely have to deal with the consequences of at a later date. Where are you? Did you find Iida?"

_ "Yeah, but he saw me. Sorry. But, uh...I'm kinda glad. You should come see this. Iida is getting super into it." _

Izuku nodded, "I'll be there as soon as possible." Before Izuku ran off to find Ochako, he looked back at where Katsuki disappeared. He was happy that the fight ended quickly and with little damage done, but losing in such a way just wasn't a part of Katsuki's code.

...Okay, well losing in general wasn't a part of Katsuki's coding.

But, to not only lose by simple capture tape, but to be caught by Deku of all people…

Izuku had a bad feeling about this.

...

**(15 Minutes Later)**

The rest of the battle was fairly straightforward. Iida didn't last too long with both Izuku and Uraraka going against him. The group made it back to the observation room, and Izuku was met with three things.

No Bakugou in sight. Everyone began congratulating him. Kyouka's hand coming right for his face.

_ *SLAP* _

"Ow!"

_ *Jab* _

"Ah!" Izuku clutched his shoulder as Kyouka's jack stabbed into it. "Why?!"

"What is the matter with you?! Really?! Instigating a fight with that psychopath?"

"...W-Well, technically he started i-" Kyouka gave him a glare. "Shutting up."

All Might cleared his throat to get their attention,** "Ahem, if you two wouldn't mind I think we should start the grading."**

"Wait." Izuku said. "Where's Kaachan?"

**"Well, since this is his first time acting out and it didn't get too out of hand, I sent him off with a warning. But, he stomped out claiming he needed to go to the bathroom. Either he's not coming back for the rest of class, or he does come back and the bathroom will be nothing but ash."**

Kyouka lifted a brow, "Um, this wasn't his first time acting out."

**"...What?"**

"Yeah, he attacked Izuku yesterday, too. Or, well he tried, but Aizawa stopped him and gave him a warning."

All Might looked down in concern, **"Oh...well, technically I don't have the right to punish him anyway. That's Aizawa's job. I'll have to speak to him later. But, let us move on. Can anyone tell us who the MVP of the match was?"**

As Momo suddenly began to speak out, Kyouka nudged Izuku's side. He leaned down to hear her. She whispered, _ "Look, sorry that I hit you. Well, a little sorry." _

_ "...You're not sorry at all, are you?" _

_ "Nope. But, I just want you to know that I'm also majorly proud of you. Not that I'm condoning instigating the anger of a violent psycho and picking fights, but I'm still really really proud. You showed that dick how awesome you really are. Maybe he'll finally pull his head out of his own ass and stop being such a jerk." _

Izuku almost laughed. "_ Actually, he's probably just going to be even angrier than before." _

_ "You just have the worst luck, don't you?" _

_ "Eh, it's not so bad. My luck let me find you, so you won't hear me complaining." _

Kyouka flung her head back, _ "Can we never have just one conversation where we don't suddenly turn it into some heartfelt mushfest." _

_ "That's like asking me not to breathe. It's quite literally one of the only three ways I know how to communicate. Which is actually a major improvement from my original one of stuttering through every single word." _Momo finished her explanation with Iida being MVP, just barely beating Izuku and Ochako purely for his dedication to the simulation. Izuku and Kyouka went to the back of the group, his notebook out and ready to write down everything he saw about the next group. As Todoroki and Shoji were sent out, Kyouka turned to Izuku.

"Hey, I need to ask you something before I get sent out with Pikachu."

"Hm?" Izuku said, still somewhat concentrated on his notebook.

"...What did they say at the lunch table yesterday that made you so pissed off?"

**A/N: So, I've been thinking, should I 100% follow the outline of the original one shot? Because, I actually have a good idea for how they get together, and it happens earlier than the Sports Festival like Kyouka originally said. This idea can still be used at the Sports Festival too, but it might make a little more sense if it was earlier purely from a timing perspective.**

**Also, at this point they basically both know that their relationship could actually go somewhere. I don't know. I'm kind of leaning towards just waiting to use it for the Sports Festival to keep everything coherent. I'm not sure.**

**Anywho, random question. What's a movie that you hate but everyone else loves (or one that you love but everyone else hates?)**

**For instance, I hate Tim Burton's Batman. Give me your rage!**


	9. Words Hurt Like Hell

**AN: Surprise. Thanks to a lot of comments I've come up with a compromise to give you guys the romance you want and to keep the original One-shot's story intact. Some of you may be disappointed. I just hope you still find enjoyment.**

"W-...What?"

"C'mon, what did they say?"

Izuku paused as he contemplated his next move. "Th-They talked about you girls, like I said."

"I know. I mean, what exactly did they say? Specifics?"

"Uh, why d-do you want to know?"

Now Kyouka was really suspicious. Izuku wouldn't be dodging the question if it wasn't a big deal. "Izuku, what happened?" He remained silent, looking around for anything to distract them from the conversation. "Izuku...what did they say about me?"

It had to be about her. Izuku may not be a liar, but that didn't mean he would tell people things they likely didn't want to hear. He had told the truth, just not the specifics. Kyouka knew herself that knowing the answer was going to hurt.

Badly.

It was too late. She had to know.

Izuku sighed and looked to his feet, "...I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both. Even if I could, I refuse to have those words come out of my mouth.

...That bad?

Kyouka nodded, "Okay, I understand." Izuku sighed in relief. "I'll just ask them."

Izuku's eyes widened, "What?! Kyouka, it's-" She was already walking over to Kaminari on the other side of the room. Izuku quickly rushed over and grabbed her, spinning her around and pushing her to the back of the room and away from everyone else. "Kyouka, please just listen. It's just...it was stupid. It was all just really idiotic slander."

"Slander? So if none of it was true, then why are you so worried? It should be fine. You know that dumb saying. Sticks and stones may break my bones-"

"But words can hurt like hell, and you know it."

Kyouka grabbed Izuku's shoulders, "Izuku... please." The greenette's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, no words coming out. He eventually looked back down at his feet, shaking his head. Kyouka's arms dropped down. "...Fine."

All Might turned around from the monitor and spoke to the class. **"Team G and Team C are up next!" **

Kyouka began to back away, Izuku still not meeting her eyes. She turned around to see Kaminari waiting for her by the exit. _'Alright Pikachu, you have some answers for me.'_

…

"You got 'em yet?" Kaminari asked, leaning against the wall next to Kyouka as she jammed jack into the wall and adjusted the volume on her headphones.

"Gimme a second." Kyouka already knew that Momo and Minoru were directly above them. She just needed time to ask Denki some questions. Kyouka reached under her headphones and took out her earpiece, shutting it down and cutting off All Might from listening in. "Hey, turn off your earpiece for a minute. I can hear it's feedback."

"Oh, sorry." He quickly informed All Might of what he was doing and turned off his device, only to look up and see Kyouka looking him dead in the eye. "U-Uh...What?"

"What did you say at lunch yesterday?"

Denki's eyes widened, "I-I don-"

"What. Did. You. Say? You were clearly nervous when you asked about it, and you were scared that Izuku might've told me. Apparently, it was bad enough where he won't say it."

Denki began to back away, "I-I really don't know what you're talking about? Like he said, we were just talking about girls. You know, locker room talk?"

"If you haven't noticed dipshit, I am a girl. So that includes me. I already know you said something about me, I just don't know what. And it's really beginning to piss me off. And when I get pissed off, Izuku gets concerned. He's a pretty protective person, and I'm sure you saw what he did to that softball yesterday. Did you also know that in his entrance exam he destroyed the Zero-Pointer bot in a single punch?"

"Alright! I get it! I...Look, Jirou, it wasn't me. It was Mineta. He's a nice guy, but he says a lot of stupid crap. It wasn't-"

"Serious? Then what's the problem with telling me?"

Denki ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, "Do you really want to know?" Kyouka nodded, even though her mind was telling her it was just going to hurt. "...He said-"

…

**(Observation Room)**

Ochako tilted her head at the television, "What are they doing? They're just talking?"

Tenya nodded, "Perhaps strategizing."

"Hmm...I don't know. Denki looks kinda nervous. What do you think, Midoriya?"

"..."

"Midoriya?" Izuku still didn't answer. He was completely focused on the screen, anxiety etched into his features. He knew what they were talking about. He knew what Kyouka had asked Denki.

Izuku watched her expression, waiting for his cue to...he didn't know. Just do... something.

But, there was nothing.

With every word out of Denki's mouth, Kyouka just stared at him completely frozen with her glare on her face. Kaminari finally stopped talking and waited for Kyouka to respond. She simply sat there for what seemed like forever, completely unmoving.

Without another word Kyouka punched the wall, her speakers firing soundwaves into the concrete. Denki flinched back, and everyone in the observation room watched in confusion. The wall cracked and shattered, traveling up and reaching the ceiling. The ceiling broke apart and gave out.

Momo, Mineta, and the bomb all fell down to the level below them. Kyouka stomped across the rubble, slammed her hand on the bomb, turned around, and stormed out of the room and out the building. Everyone watched in complete shock at how quickly and easily Kyouka had won.

All Might looked around, not exactly knowing what to say. **"Um...Uh...the hero team wins."**

Ochako's mouth was open as she stared in awe, "Jirou's amazing. She did that all by herself. But...what do you think happened in there?" The door suddenly swung open with Kyouka walking through. Izuku immediately tried to go to her, but she veered off towards All Might.

"I don't feel good. Can I go to the nurse's office?"

Her behavior and tone made it clear to All Might that it was likely a bad idea to deny her request.** "Alright, go on. I hope you feel better."**

The purplette began to walk out of the room, but not before Izuku tried to stop her. "Kyouka, wait I-" She dodged to the left, avoiding Izuku. Just as she moved past him she gripped Izuku's hand and gave it a squeeze as reassurance, to show that she didn't blame him. Only then did she take her leave.

Izuku gazed at the door she had left out of. He looked back and forth between All Might and the door as he contemplated on whether to go after her or stay.

Did she want to be left alone?

Would he get in trouble for going?

...Okay, he kind of didn't care about the second worry. She was his priority.

But, it was clear that she didn't want Izuku getting in her way. He had never actually dealt with an emotionally hurt Kyouka, so he had no idea how to handle the situation.

**"Young Midoriya?" **Izuku turned to All Might, who was sending out the next team. **"You're essentially done here. You can go check on her if you'd like."**

"Oh! Th-Thank you, All Might." He turned around to leave, but the other side door opened to reveal Kaminari, Momo, and Mineta returning from the test. Denki caught Izuku's eye and immediately grew nervous.

Izuku turned away and began to leave. Denki rushed over to him and grabbed his shoulder, "Wait, Dude. I'm so sorr-"

Izuku shook off his hand and walked out the door. He knew it honestly wasn't Kaminari's fault, and he was particularly angry with him as much as he was angry at Mineta. But, Izuku honestly just wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone involved in the matter.

He would apologize to Denki later. Kyouka required immediate attention. Izuku lightly jogged down the halls in an attempt to catch up to Kyouka, but he never caught sight of her. Finally he was met with Recovery Girl's office.

Izuku opened the door and found no one except for the old nurse herself. "Oh boy. What'd you do this time?"

Izuku shook his head, "It's not me. Kyouka Jirou came down here. You know, the girl that was with me during the entrance exam?"

"Oh, her? I'm sorry, but I haven't seen her. She's not been in here."

"She left." Both turned to the doorway to see Aizawa. "Jirou came to me and asked to go home early. She clearly wasn't in the right mental state to stay too much longer, so I let her go. However, she refused to tell me what had happened. She told me you'd be here, Midoriya. Did she leave because of you?"

"N-No, it's...it's complicated...and sort of private. It wasn't the battle test, I swear! Kyouka can handle combat, I've trained with her myself an-"

"I figured," Aizawa interrupted. "I've had students who couldn't handle the combat before, and that wasn't how she was acting. If I truly believed that was the cause, then when I sent her home I would've told her not to come back."

"I need to go after her! She-"

"Told me to tell you to stay in school."

"What?"

"She knew you would come after her and asked me to keep you in school. Wanting to be alone right now and all that teenage angst stuff."

"But I-"

Aizawa turned around to leave, "I have no doubt you'll find her after class. School is almost over anyway. Let her cool off. Besides, she left her uniform and backpack. You need to take that to her." Izuku sighed as Shouta left the room, glumly following him out. Maybe leaving Kyouka alone for a bit would be okay. Although, Izuku knew more than anybody that too much time pondering bad things on your own could just make things much worse.

…

The final bell rang and Izuku shot out of his seat, quickly rushing for the door. Momo had gotten Kyouka's uniform from the locker room, and Izuku grabbed Kyouka's backpack from the back of her seat. With the uniform in her backpack, Izuku picked up the bag and quickly raced out the door. Tenya jumped out of his seat, "Midoriya! No running in the halls!"

Correction: Izuku picked up the bag and quickly _speed-walked_ out the door.

Soon he was out the front doors. Once on the sidewalk, Izuku immediately took off in a sprint towards the train station. He had a lot of loose ends to tie up tomorrow. Katsuki, Kaminari, having to find some sort of explanation for Uraraka and Iida, decide on if he should protect Mineta from Kyouka.

It was probably more on the lines of _IF_ he could protect Mineta from Kyouka.

He couldn't focus on those at the moment. There was another problem he needed to solve. How the hell was he going to show Kyouka just how wrong and slanderous Mineta was?

...Well, he did have on idea.

But, it was risky. If it ended well, then everything wouldn't just be great. It would be even better than before. And if it went badly…

Izuku just hoped he could come up with a better idea by the time he reached Kyouka's house.

…

**(The Jirou's Residence)**

He did not.

"Oh this is stupid. This is really stupid, Izuku. You're going to ruin everything." Izuku lifted his hand up to knock on the do-

_*SLAM*_

"What'd you do to her!?" The teen was suddenly dangling by his collar as Kyoutoku had burst through the door and lifted him off of the ground.

"I-I didn't do anything!"

"Put him down, Kyou." Izuku looked past the elder Jirou's shoulder to see Mika walk up behind her husband. "Do you really think he'd do anything to Kyouka?"

"Well...I…" Kyoutoku sighed and dropped Izuku back down on the ground. "No."

Izuku straightened out his blazer and looked towards the parents with concern. "May I talk to her? Please, I need to speak with her."

The parents look at one another and then back to Izuku. "She's not home," Kyoutoku said. "Actually, she never came home. We saw you walking towards the house without her and carrying her bag, so we-" Mika nudged him. "..._I _assumed the worst. You don't know where she is?"

"No I…" Izuku furrowed his brow in thought, an idea forming in his mind. "Actually, I think I do." He shoved the backpack into Mika's hands and took off down the street, leaving the confused parents behind.

…

**(Dagobah Municipal Beach Park)**

By the time Izuku's feet touched the sand, the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon. Just at the edge of the tide was Kyouka. She had never changed out of her hero costume. Her jacket and boots were shed, and her pant legs were rolled up her calves. Izuku wished she would wear the sleeveless peach-colored shirt outside of school, it really worked for her.

Izuku removed his blazer and tie, folding them neatly and placing them on the steps with his shoes on top. He rolled up his pants and sleeves, walking out towards her. Her eyes weren't red and puffy, so she hadn't been crying.

Her face still had sadness, but it was the kind of sadness that came from acceptance.

A sadness Izuku was all too familiar with, yet was so distant from.

Izuku sat down next to Kyouka, propping his elbows on his knees. "Hey."

She propped her elbows in her knees as well, and laid her head down on her arms. She looked towards her friend and gave a very small smile. "Hi."

Her voice was quiet, almost like a whisper. "I got your backpack for you. And your uniform. I left it back at your house."

"Thanks."

"Kyouka...what Mineta said-"

"Stop." She looked back out at the ocean, "Just stop. I get it. I understand why you didn't tell me. Ironically, sometimes I'm not very good at listening."

"Kyouka...I-I-..."

"What? Look, I get you were trying to spare my feelings and all that, but it honestly doesn't help." She suddenly stood up and began pacing around in the sand. "You were right, it still...it still hurts. I know I'm supposed to be tough, but I...Do you know how it feels to look at yourself and just feel a pain in your chest. Your gut feels hollow and you can't help but want someone else to be staring back at you in the mirror?"

Izuku stood up and nodded, "Yeah, I do. I felt that everyday for eleven years."

The purplette ran a hand through her head and sighed, "Of course you do. I sometimes forget you were quirkless. Ugh, I'm such a damn baby. You probably think I'm so petty."

"No! Not at all! I know people say appearance doesn't matter, and in the grand scheme of things it doesn't, but it's something that's always on your mind. I mean, how we look is going to be a part of our future jobs as heroes. It hurts when people call me plain. It makes me feel…" Kyouka turned to him, awaiting for him to continue. "...it makes me feel like I'm quirkless again. At least, in a way. I feel dull, not special, and will never be noticed by anybody. I don't mean that I want the spotlight on me or anything. I'm fairly certain I'd have a heart attack if I did, but...it just makes me feel like nobody would ever look at me. Nobody would even know I existed. Like being quirkless, it makes me feel like I'm...nothing."

Kyouka shook her head, "That's not true."

Izuku nodded, "I know. I accepted how I look a long time ago, and I know those feelings are nothing but my mind trying to get to me. It has a knack for doing that, and I succumb to it from time to time, too."

Kyouka walked closer to him, "Screw that. You're not plain. Uraraka was an idiot for calling you that."

"Well…" Izuku did a double-take. "Wait, that's why you've been on edge around Uraraka?"

Kyouka pursed her lips, "Not entirely. But, she was still wrong. You're very, _very_ handsome. And I know my own head is my worst enemy, it's just how Kaminari was so nervous about telling me and me finding out. He didn't want me knowing what he really thought about me and...I guess a part of me couldn't help but feel that was the reason why you didn't tell me either, what you really think of me." She clutched her head and shook it back and forth. "I'm just so-"

Kyouka was suddenly brought into a hug, Izuku's arms wrapped tightly around her lower back. "Kyouka, I didn't tell you because it wasn't true. I was angry at them because they're blind idiots and liars. I was so angry whenever they were talking about who they believed was the most attractive girl in class, because no matter what they said, all I could picture was you. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I can't even think about you without being amazed by everything about you, and you're on my mind constantly. I used to be scared that I would wake up and realize that my quirk was nothing but a dream. Now I'm terrified that I'll wake up and you were just a dream. You're just so...s-so... unbelievable."

His words echoed throughout her mind. For once, finally she was able to listen to what he said and truly believe it. Kyouka closed her eyes and fell into his embrace, encircling her arms around him and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

Izuku could feel hot tears hit his skin, roll down his neck, and seep into his clothes. Silence fell upon them as they stood in the sand, the orange glow of the sunset bathing the landscape and water with its colors and turning the sky purple. The only noise coming from the splashing waves of the ocean. Izuku moved his hand in slow circles on her back, and Kyouka moved her arms from his shoulders to his neck.

Eventually, they began to lift their heads off of each other's shoulders. But, on her move back, Kyouka placed her hand on Izuku's left cheek and planted a long kiss to his right. She could feel Izuku jump ever so slightly, but relaxed near instantly.

When her lips disconnected, neither created any more space between them. Kyouka's forehead was pressed against Izuku's cheekbone. She eventually slid her way up until their temples connected, then finally their foreheads.

Kyouka opened her eyes to see Izuku staring right back, not a single ounce of embarrassment or fear in his eyes, but she could hear his heartbeat going a mile a minute. They stayed that way for a while, Kyouka's thumb brushing back and forth as she continued to caress his cheek.

Izuku had instinctually tightened his embrace. If he was going to go through with what he originally intended to do, then he couldn't back out. And it didn't look like Kyouka was going to either. Both knew that if there was any time to take a chance, it was then.

They weren't particularly sure who moved first.

If they were being honest, they didn't really care.

All that mattered to them was that one of them had finally closed the space between them, both closing their eyes as their lips softly connected.

It was nothing crazy or overly lewd. Their lips simply pressed together, each giving a slight push to kiss back.

But to them, it was everything.

Most of the time a first kiss, especially one that truly meant something, was described as if you were feeling fireworks on the inside.

To them it wasn't an explosion.

It was a fire setting ablaze across their whole body, and spreading to the other person. It felt far more satisfying than fireworks to them. Their lips finally separated, but neither made any attempt to leave the hug. Kyouka placed her head down on Izuku's cheat, and the greenette carefully laid his own head on top of her's.

No words were spoken. The teens wanted to mull over and process what had happened.

By the time anyone spoke a word, the sun had fully gone down. "Kyouka...we…"

Izuku was silenced with another kiss to his lips. "Let's just figure it out later." Izuku nodded and brought her back into the embrace.

"I...I just kissed a girl."

Kyouka laughed, "Yes. Yes you did."

"I just kissed a girl, the most awesome girl in the world...and it was amazing."

"I would say you were ruining the moment, but you nerding out over this is actually kind of fitting."

Izuku gave a breathy chuckle, "I finally realize now why you were so on edge around Uraraka."

"And do I have any reason to be worried anymore?"

The greenette shook his head, "You never did."

"Good." She wrapped herself tighter around Izuku, his touch and warmth becoming addicting.

"It's late. Do you want to go home?"

Kyouka shook her head against him, "No. You?"

"No...but, your parents are probably worried."

Kyouka sucked in through her teeth, "Oh, right. I'm probably in trouble."

"You? What about me? I just kissed you. I'm pretty sure your dad considers that a crime worthy of execution."

Kyouka took Izuku by the hand, "Not if I have anything to say about it."

…

**(The Jirou's Residence)**

The duo stood on the sidewalk out in front of Kyouka's house. Still holding Izuku's hand, she turned to him. "I'll face the music alone this time. You should really get home before your mother freaks out."

"Yeah," Izuku said, nodding in agreement. "But, Kyouka...are we…you know?"

Kyouka wanted more than anything to say yes, but one thing still terrified her. "What if things don't work out? What if we're just riding some emotion high?"

Izuku hated to admit it, but he was afraid of that, too. Both teens still had their concerns about if they could live up to the expectations of their partner in a relationship. Neither could whole-heartedly say that they believed they could please the other on every level. And if their friendship somehow took damage from it…

Having a friendship was already a new experience to them. But a romance? It was entirely unknown to them and scary. Kyouka had seen tons of couples back in middle school only last for a week at max. She refused for that to be her and Izuku.

"Well," Izuku said. "...what if we don't make it official yet?"

Kyouka's eyes widened. "Like a test drive?"

"Yeah, like that."

"So, for now we're just dating. And, if we feel like things are strong and still growing stronger, then we can make it official? Like, a legitimate, serious relationship?"

Izuku nodded, "And if things really don't end well, we go right back to the way we were before. If that sounds good to you."

Kyouka smiled and kissed him, "That sounds perfect. Don't tell Mina though...or anybody besides family for that matter. I really don't feel like getting all that attention at school."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Now you might want to run." Kyouka turned around to see her parents looking out the window. Kyoutoku's jaw was hanging wide open, and Mika was smiling at the pair.

"R-Right!" Izuku took off down the street. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Kyouka watched him disappear down the sidewalk, "See you tomorrow, Loverboy." She turned back to her house and walked up the steps and through her front door. "Don't ask questions, Dad don't do anything stupid, have a good night." Kyouka quickly rushed up the stairs before either of them could even respond. Once in her room, she locked the door and sank to the floor.

That actually happened.

It all actually happened.

Kyouka placed a hand over her heart, its pace just as high as it was on the beach. For the first time in years, she had no negative thoughts. Her entire life felt right. Oh, except for the part where she was scared shitless of fucking up their relationship. She had one shot, and she could NOT screw it up.

_'Don't do any weird or over-the-top shit, Kyouka. Just be what Izuku likes. And somehow he likes you, so just be yourself. Don't. Mess. It. Up.'_

…

"I'm going to mess it up." Izuku shook his head in panic outside of his apartment. Izuku opened up the door and walked through. He made his way to the living room to find his mother, "Sorry I'm so late, Mom."

"It's alright, Sweetheart. I got your text saying you'd be late. I'm assuming you were with Jirou?"

Izuku blushed and a goofy smile grew on his face, "Y-Yeah." Izuku then realized it was the perfect opportunity to ask for advice on his personal situation. "...I'll be back." Izuku went into his room and quickly dialed up the number he was looking for. He picked up a letter on his bed and tossed it aside so he could sit down.

_*Ring* *Rin- "Hello?"_

"All Might, how do I date girls?"

_"...Wh-...I-...I dunno."_

"You don't know?!"

_"I mean not really. I didn't exactly date a lot of girls. Why are you even asking me this? Shouldn't this sort of advice be something you should be asking your mother?"_

"I-I guess so."

_"Look, I am actually glad you called about this. I've noticed how you've been acting around Young Jirou. Is she alright? After class today I wasn't so sure."_

Izuku blushed, "Was I that obvious? Actually, don't answer that. But, yes she's alright now."

_"Where did this friendship with her come from anyway? From how you act around one another surely you didn't first meet yesterday." _Izuku proceeded to explain how he and Kyouka had first met and their friendship after that. _"Two months? How am I only hearing about her now?"_

"I-I was caught up in the moment and I guess I forgot to tell you. She can be very...distracting, in a good way."

_"Well, at least I understand this all better now. Thank you for keeping One For All's secret safe. I'm sure it has been difficult trying to keep such a thing from her. We should however, talk about One For All and what it can mean for a relationship before you actually try to pursue one with Jirou."_

Izuku's heart dropped, "U-Uh...I kind of already started my relationship with her."

_"What?! When?!"_

"About thirty minutes ago."

_"I-...Well...Congratulations."_

"Th-Thanks. We're not official, like boyfriend and girlfriend yet. We're just going out for now and seeing how it goes for a couple of weeks, not making huge commitments. We don't want our friendship to be damaged if things don't pan out like we expect them to."

_"That's understandable, but-..." _There was silence for a little bit with Toshinori in thought. _"I'm very happy for you, Young Midoriya. I'll help you whenever I can, even with the little experience that I have."_

The teen smiled, "Thank you, All Might."

…

**(Yagi Residence)**

The call ended after that with Toshinori in a confused state as he gazed out his window and into the night sky. He truly was happy for Midoriya, but the boy still didn't know the true repercussions of having One For All. Toshinori didn't plan on telling him about All For One so soon, but with Kyouka now in the picture his plan had changed.

However, he didn't want to ruin Izuku's happiness. The young man had just started a relationship with someone he was obviously completely and utterly taken with. While his voice had still been nervous, Izuku's tone was overall bursting with excitement and bliss. He couldn't take that from him right when he got it. Toshinori would have to find the right time to tell him and let Izuku decide on what he would do with that information.

He wouldn't and couldn't dictate anything about Izuku's life, especially his love-life. Izuku deserved so much.

Memories of Nana flash through his mind and what happened to her husband. The hero shook his head to clear his mind. He would _never _let that happen to Izuku. If All For One even had a single thought about Izuku and Kyouka, he would make sure the villain never had another thought again. He just hoped that whenever he actually did tell Izuku, he wouldn't be scared out of his relationship with Kyouka.

Whatever the case, Toshinori just had all the more reason to make sure All For One was stopped once and for all.

…

**(The Next Day)**

Izuku skipped his way up the front steps of Kyouka's house. He had woken up that morning in pure delight. He had never-

_*Slam* _

"Run!" Izuku was suddenly grabbed by the hand and dragged down the steps by Kyouka. It wasn't until they were on the sidewalk did Izuku see the dark silhouette of Kyoutoku in the doorway. Soon the house was out of sight, and Kyouka stopped them. "That was close."

"Shouldn't we explain things to your parents?"

"Not until he calms down. Give it a few days." She put a hand on Izuku's chest, "Don't worry, he doesn't actually hate you. He's just directing his emotions of his daughter growing up onto you."

"...Sh-Should that make me feel better?"

"More or less." Kyouka looked around a little embarrassed before pointing at Izuku's lips. "Um, can I? Or, can we-...uh…"

"Oh! O-Of course."

Izuku shakily placed his hands in her hips, and Kyouka put her hands on both sides of his face. She gave a feather-light kiss to his lips before giving a little more force to make it a full kiss. Soon she disconnected, backing away with a blush. "Sorry. Ever since last night I really wanted to do that again."

Izuku rubbed that back of his head, his own blush dusting his cheeks. "You're handling this relationship far better than me. I have no idea what to do."

She took his hand and began walking towards the train station. "I'm just not going to take this for granted. Even if in a few weeks we decide not to do this anymore, I'm going to take advantage of this for as long as I have you."

"That's fine by me." They continued their travel towards the train station in a comfortable silence, each still trying to process what was happening. They eventually sat down on their usual train, awaiting its departure. "S-So, this whole dating thing. When do you w-want to have our first date?"

"Well, we don't exactly have busy schedules, being introverted teenagers and all."

"So, tonight?"

"You read my mind. You're going to have to leave and come back to my house though. I'll need time to get ready and look good."

"But you always look good."

Kyouka looked at Izuku to find complete innocence on his face. It wasn't a deliberate pick-up line. He had just legitimately said that as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Is this how it's gonna be from now on? Is everything you say to me going to be an unintentional and charming flirt? Oh, wait. You've already been doing that."

"You're the one that held my hand our first time hanging out. And you took me to your house."

"...Touché."

...

They reached U.A and walked inside, but not before letting go of each other's hands. That sort of attention wasn't something they were ready for. Knowing they had each other at all other times was enough.

When they eventually reached their class, Izuku noticed two things. Katsuki still had an emptiness in his eyes, and Kaminari was frantically whispering to Mineta.

_"Dude, I think we have a problem."_

"_What, is Yaoyorozu deciding to get her costume changed to look less sexy?"_

_"Wh-...No. Look, we may or may not have insulted Midoriya's girlfriend, the guy who could kill us with his finger, right to his face."_

Mineta lifted a brow in confusion, _"What are you talking about?"_

_"Remember the first day at lunch when we were talking about the girls, and then you said some not so nice things about Jirou. Midoriya looked freaking pissed! He's gonna kill us!"_

_"Jirou? Pfft, Midoriya has no taste."_

*_Smack*_

"Ow! What was that fo-!"

Denki covered Mineta's mouth, _"Quiet! And to make matters worse, Jirou made me tell her what you said."_

_"What?! Why are you throwing me under the bus?!"_

_"I'm not going down with you on this one. You're the one who said it! If anyone should be killed it's you! I-" _Denki froze when he saw Kyouka and Izuku standing at the front of the class looking at them. "We're dead."

Kyouka nodded towards Katsuki, "You go handle your blonde. I'll handle mine." She walked over to the duo, and Kaminari stood up straight.

"Listen Jirou, about yesterday. I'm real-"

"Save it, Lightning Dolt. I'm not angry with you. I know you weren't the one who said it and you're sorry."

Denki put a hand on his chest and sighed in relief, "Oh thank goodness."

Kyouka turned towards Mineta, "You, however…" Her jacks suddenly shot out, menacingly hovering right in front of his eyes. "I don't know when. I don't know where. But, I will jab you in your perverted little eyes. Have fun gawking at the girls with these poking through your corneas. So, next time you want to talk perv on someone, just remember…" Kyouka retracted her jacks and turned around. "I'm always listening."

She walked away to her desk, her heart still a little heavy from his words, but far lighter than she was yesterday. She looked over at Izuku to see his attempt to talk to Bakugou wasn't going very well. "Kaachan I jus-"

"Shut. The fuck. Up. That capture tape bullshit won't work next time." He stood up and glared at his former victim. "I actually hope you do well in the Sports Festival. That'll be a real fight. You want to fucking compete against me? I see no better time to do it." He sat back down, glaring forward.

Izuku sighed and backed away, making his way to Kyouka. She gave him an empathic look, "No luck?"

"You heard him. And now I know he's not going to talk to me until the festival...which I completely forgot we would have to do."

"Hopefully he'll be disqualified for attempted murder." Izuku hummed in response, still wondering about Bakugou. Even Katsuki's threats were lackluster compared to normal. He carried himself differently.

His pride was gone.

...Okay, well Katsuki has _way _too much pride and ego for it to ever vanish. It was more like it was damaged. The one-on-one tournament portion of the Sports Festival was a permanent event that took place every year. Izuku just had to hope that Katsuki lost a match before he ever had to fight him.

_'...I'm done for.'_

…

**(End of the Day)**

"As much as I agree with your decision to give the presidency to Iida, he seems perfect for it, I still think it would've been nice to be the First Lady of Class 1-A." The two were close to the train station, their hands intertwined as they walked.

Izuku couldn't help but laugh, "Both of us in a position of power would likely end in disaster."

"Yeah. At least I managed to get in my first act as First Lady."

"What do you mean?"

"Whenever everyone was panicking I tripped Mineta. Little freak got trampled."

"..."

Kyouka sighed, "Fine, I won't cause him anymore harm...unless he acts perverted again."

"That's fair. But, you do know that First Lady isn't a real position in the student council, right?"

"Well not anymore." The duo finally reached the station, both separated their hands. For the first time in two months, they were getting on separate trains. "So you'll be at my place at seven?"

"Yeah, I've been planning this out all day. It's nothing formal or anything. I couldn't afford that anyway."

"And I'm assuming you have a backup plan, as usual?"

"Um...dinner and a movie?"

Cliche, but effective.

"Sure. Better yet, we watch it at my place. My movie selection is pretty nice if I do say so myself."

"Deal." Kyouka entered her train, Izuku's would be arriving soon. As it left the station, Izuku waved her goodbye even though he would see her in a couple of hours.

Izuku thought back to their first time hanging out as friends and how great it was.

_'I've sort of done this before. Okay... I've got this.'_

**AN: Now I know a lot of you wanted it to be during the USJ, but honestly, I didn't. The USJ will play a role in their relationship. I have a plan for their officiality. I've already done the whole "Oh no, we were just in a life or death situation! Let me blurt my feelings!". And honestly, so many others have done that too. Thanks to a friend of mine it also makes the feelings seem less sincere. Izuku and Kyouka's best moments in this fic, and I think you'll all agree,are the quiet ones. The moments where it's just them, alone, talking. Those moments where they're the most open with one another. The beach, the karaoke club, Kyouka's room. All of those are where they excel and really open up to one another. I honestly couldn't imagine doing this scene not in one of those places. It had to be either the beach or Kyouka's room. It may not be as climactic as a lot of you were hoping, but these are honestly the moments I love to write the most.**


	10. First Test (Date)

**A/N: This really is just a big fluff chapter going through their date together. Just to let you know, but I figured a lot of you already expected that. I hope you enjoy it.**

**BTW, there are spoilers to a movie in case you haven't seen it. But, it's a really old film. And an amazing film. So if you haven't seen it by now, why the fuck not? Go. Watch it now. Screw this story. Go. I don't care that I haven't said what the movie is. Just go fucking watch it.**

Kyouka sucked in her cheeks as she looked at the mirror. Looking at herself up and down, she nodded. "Let's do this thing."

Tonight wasn't the night for her mind's usual antics. She had a date.

A real, legitimate date with a boy she really liked.

It didn't matter what she thought about herself. She was going all out. Kyouka quickly moved around her room, arranging the make-up she was going to use, pulling jackets off of the hangars, grabbing shirts from her drawers, picking and choosing what to wear. Izuku said it wasn't fancy or anything. Which was good, because she didn't have a really nice dress on hand. After a few minutes of contemplation, Kyouka had everything that she wanted to wear laid out on her bed. However, as she looked down at her chosen outfit, she felt that there was just something missing. She just couldn't lay her finger on it.

"The fishnets."

"Ah!" Kyouka yelped, jumping in surprise. Her mother stood in the doorway of her room, smiling at her daughter. "How'd I not hear you?!"

"I have my ways. Now, back to the topic at hand." Mika walked further into the room and opened up Kyouka's dresser, pulling out the article of clothing she mentioned earlier. She laid down the black, rhinestone fishnet leggings. "He likes your legs. Might as well give him a little bit of eye candy."

Kyouka looked away with a blush, but her regular glare never left her face. "How do you even know that?"

"He's a very polite young man, but even he's not strong enough to resist a passing glance every time. Boys will be boys, after all. And if he's anything like your father, then h-"

"No! I DO NOT want to know what Dad's into!"

Mika chuckled, raising her hands in defense. "Alright, alright. I get it. There is something we do need to talk about, though. We haven't had the chance to discuss your new boyfriend."

"Now?"

"Now."

Kyouka sighed, knowing that there was no way out of the situation. "Technically he's not my boyfriend yet."

"Last night you two seemed pretty close to me."

"We're dating, just not official. A test drive, so to speak."

"So sucking his face off counts as a test drive?" Mika asked with a smirk.

"Get out."

Mika laughed again, placing a kiss on top of her daughter's head. "Have fun tonight. That is if my assumption that these clothes are for a date is correct. You will be By the way, you will be talking to your father about all of this."

"Sure, when I'm 30."

Mika rolled her eyes, but left Kyouka alone to get ready. She was able to hear her daughter's heart pounding in her chest.

She was obviously nervous enough. The last thing she needed was for her father to be panicking about the date as well. It didn't matter how much he didn't want his daughter to grow up.

She would make him promise to lay off the overprotective parent act, even if just for the night.

...Right after she unlocked him out of the recording studio.

...After Kyouka left.

…

_*Ding-Dong*_

Izuku fiddled with the sleeves of his forest green button-up shirt as he rang the doorbell. He wasn't sure if he should wear them down at his wrists or roll them up his forearms. All Might had said, "_**Show off your muscles! Ladies love that...I think.**_"

Izuku was starting to realize that Toshinori wasn't exaggerating when he said he had no experience in dating women. Showing off like that wasn't his style, and he doubted Kyouka really cared about that. Well, she had mentioned his physique before. Did she like his muscles?

"Oh, trust me. I like them plenty."

Izuku slightly jumped, his focus had distracted him so much that he didn't realize the front door had already opened. He also didn't notice that he was apparently muttering to himself. "S-Sorry, I was distrac-...ted…" The greenette was fairly certain that he would have to call off the date and go to the hospital, because it felt like his heart stopped beating.

Kyouka stood before him wearing lace-up black combat boots ending just a little over halfway up her calves, a black mini pencil skirt that hugged her body perfectly, and black fishnet tights. For every two diamonds that the nets formed, there was a rhinestone. There was a silver chain running from the front of her waistband to the back of it. Tucked into her skirt was a red shirt of the band "Black Flag" with their logo in black. She was donning a midriff black leather jacket, three white stripes ran down the front on the left side.

Her accessories consisted of a spiked bracelet and a couple of chains around her wrist, and a black leather choker necklace. The necklace of the choker was a single .308 bullet dangling by a chain over Kyouka's chest.

Her already beautiful face was accented by black lipstick and a dash of purple eyeshadow.

In that moment, Izuku felt even more like the luckiest man alive.

Kyouka smirked at him, gesturing down to his arms. "Is that a new fashion trend I don't know about?"

Izuku was shocked out of his stupor, looking down at his sleeves to see that his indecision had caused him to have one sleeve rolled up and the other still down at his wrists. "O-Oh."

Kyouka chuckled, closing the door behind her before taking his other arm and rolling up the sleeve for him. "Looking good, Lover-Boy."

"Y-You look perfect. Better than perfect. I-I can't really put it into words."

A smile graced Kyouka's face, '_Mission accomplished.' _She leaned up and kissed his cheek

_*Click*_

Their attention was grabbed by Mika taking multiple pictures of them through the window. Kyouka raised her jacket over her head to hide her face, quickly grabbing Izuku's hand and speed-walking down away from the house. "Ugh, sorry about that."

"I-I don't really mind. If our situations were reversed, we'd have to be leaving my apartment by boat due to my mom's tears. I'll choose taking a picture over that."

"Well, hopefully there are no more surprises like that." She looked up at Izuku's face, he was looking away awkwardly. "...What?"

"...About those surprises."

…

**(15 Minutes Later)**

"...You didn't."

Izuku smiled, rubbing the back of his head with a blush dusting his cheeks. "I did."

"Well, I guess I never _actually_ answered your question so...I appreciate all forms of music. However…" Kyouka's smile was wide as she scoffed and shook her head at the building in front of her. "...no. I don't particularly like jazz."

_Ryuji Twilight Jazz Club_

"But I am so down for this being our first date." Kyouka quickly grabbed Izuku's hand and rushed inside. Not even two seconds inside, the purplette immediately flinched at the music playing from the stage further in the building. "Ugh, even worse: _Freeform_ Jazz. Just play the right notes you freaks." Izuku laughed at her criticisms. He had actually put a lot of thought into the location.

A place with significant meaning to them: Jazz

Related to something Kyouka loves: Music

And where Kyouka can do something she loves: Make fun of and judge people.

It was perfect.

After talking with the greeter, they were led to a booth near the back of the dimly lit building. Most of the interior was composed of dark wood paneling. The large, rounded booths were made with maroon leather, and the dim lights above each table varied in their colors. The main light in the room was coming from the stage at the front. Izuku had specifically asked for a booth in the back, because the rest of the patrons obviously came to the club because they enjoy the music.

He highly doubted any of them would want to hear Kyouka's constant laughing and satirical beratement of their favorite music.

They sat down next to each other, both facing the stage as a new group readied their instruments. After ordering their drinks, the band began to play. Kyouka immediately began to groan, but also laugh to herself.. "Uuuugh, heheh. Oh my God. The drummer looks so lost. Did he forget that his job is to improvise?" Izuku watched her listen to the band in pure hilarity, while he was somewhat confused.

It wasn't exactly his thing, but it wasn't "Awful" per say.

"What's so wrong with jazz, anyway. Why does it have such a bad reputation?"

Kyouka turned to him looking like she was trying to figure out how to word her next sentence. "Okay, look. Jazz isn't "bad". There's plenty of awesome jazz out there. But, stuff like freeform jazz just lacks everything that I'm, and plenty of other people, looking for in music. I need structure, a build-up, an actual point to listening. I want my music to have a message, emotion." She pointed up the band, taking another drink. "Stuff like this is just musicians trying to be cool. It's not for us, it's for themselves."

"So...you want your music to be for the people?"

"Well, like everything we do, there's always something about it that is for ourselves. Satisfaction, pride, excitement, etc. But, music has just always been something that I think is for the people. That's what we make it for, isn't it? For people to listen to it? It has power."

Izuku nodded, understanding where she was coming from. However, there was still something he was wondering. "Music really is important to you, isn't it?"

Kyouka smirked, "Oh, really? Whatever could have given you that idea?"

"What I meant was, music is a major part of your life. It had to have been before heroes were. Why didn't you become a musician? O-Or, at what point in your life did you realize that being a hero is what you wanted to do?"

Kyouka furrowed her brow in thought, leaning back into the booth as she thought about Izuku's question. "I wanna say around age 10 or 11. It just sort of happened. I didn't have a hero obsession like you. I had no real favorite hero either. Being a hero was just so incredible to me. Saving lives, giving people hope, putting my life on the line for the sake of others. I'm passionate about music, but I knew my heart was with heroism. There's no doubt about that. But, it was my parents who really showed me that those two halves of my life aren't so different. In fact, I could make them one."

Izuku raised a brow curiously, "What do you mean?"

"You know how I told you I was afraid to tell my parents I wasn't going to be a musician? When I did, they just told me that I should do what I wanted to do. They told me that their love for music was just a simple liking to it, but it eventually evolved. They realized that their music could actually do things for other people. That's when I fully realized that being a hero and being a musician isn't so different after all. I said I want my music to have a message, to be for the people, to invoke emotions. That's being a hero, isn't it? To share your message to the world, to teach them, to work for them, to invoke emotions in them like hope and happiness. Music can help people in their darkest times, just like heroes do. That's what I want. I want my work as a hero to be my ultimate song that I give to everyone." She looked back at Izuku, who was watching her with wide eyes. Kyouka blushed heavily, twirling one of her jacks around her finger. "I went off on a tangent there, didn't I?"

"No! That was incredible! I understand completely. I've never thought about musicians that way." Izuku rubbed the back of his head a little embarrassed. "Honestly, I-I've never really thought about any other sort of profession that way. Pro heroes have always been my definition of hero. There's never been anything else."

Kyouka smiled, leaning against Izuku. "I'm glad I could broaden your horizon."

Izuku blushed at the contact, but slowly put his arm around Kyouka. "So, your parents are heroes?"

The thought almost made Kyouka laugh, but only because the thought of her crazy, overprotective father and her down to Earth, chill mother as heroes was weird to her.

But she knew the truth.

"Yeah. I'd say so. What about you? When was the moment you realized being a hero was what you wanted to do?"

"I-It was a video of All Might I saw as I kid."

Kyouka began to chuckle, "Why am I not surprised? How did you not crap your pants whenever he announced that he would be our teacher?"

"I'm n-not so obsessed that I would do that!"

"Debatable, but continue."

"It was just a video of All Might saving people, carrying them on his back. I watched it so many times." Izuku laughed at himself, remembering when he had no chip on his shoulder. "I would beg my mom every single day to play it for me. I was just so mesmerized. Just the idea of being able to save people like that with a smile on my face, like I was invincible, bringing hope to so many, destroying evil...I couldn't think of anything more amazing to do than that."

"And what about now?"

Izuku furrowed his brow in confusion, looking down at Kyouka. "W-...What do you mean?"

"Everyone starts off with reasons like that, yeah. But, it always changes. We get older, experience new things, learn, all that stuff. I wanted to save lives because I thought it was cool, but then I learned just how much I could do for people and what I can give. My hero work is my music. You were listening, right?" She asked sarcastically, nudging his side. "What I'm trying to say is, why exactly do you want to be a hero now?"

Izuku was silent for a little bit, clearly thinking about what Kyouka had said. "I've never really thought about it before. At least, I haven't really tried to. I guess...I guess it all just comes back to my quirklessness. Kind of like everything in my life, apparently. I-It's not really something I like to talk about. Or think about."

Kyouka pursed her lips as she listened attentively, relaxing a little further into Izuku. By that point the music wasn't even noticeable to them. "You told me a little, and I obviously don't have any experience in that department, but...it was difficult, wasn't it? Being quirkless I mean."

Izuku scoffed, fiddling with the hem of his shirt as he seemed to zone out. He spoke under his breath, "...Difficult doesn't even come close."

Kyouka knew immediately not to press further. Not tonight. It was a date, and the last thing it needed was to talk about someone's troubled past that they were clearly uncomfortable about. Kyouka wasn't a relationship expert, but even she knew that was definitely something that was classified as "Not for a relationship only 24 hours old".

Hell, did that even qualify for a friendship only a couple of months old?

Either way, it wasn't a conversation for that night. There would be time for that later down the road.

Kyouka decided to make Izuku switch from fiddling with the hem of his shirt, to her fingers by slipping her hand into his. "As difficult as listening to this music?"

Joy returned to the greenette's eyes, "For you, being quirkless might've been a cake-walk compared to having to listen to freeform jazz."

Kyouka flinched as someone's trumpet blasted with a high-pitched tune, completely going against the rhythm everyone else was performing at. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

The night continued on like that. The conversation flowed as usual, with neither of them changing their positions of leaning against one another. Except for one moment where Kyouka decided to test something out and cross her legs with exaggerated movements.

She saw Izuku's eyes glance down for a few seconds before he realized what he was doing and looked away.

Another mission accomplished.

The topics of their talks varied wildly.

…

**(30 Minutes Later)**

"So, you're telling me that you've never had another pair of shoes? Do you just buy the same pair in different sizes every year?"

Izuku faltered, "...Well…"

"You've gotta be freaking kidding me. What if they discontinue that shoe?"

"Don't scare me like that."

…

**(30 Minutes Later)**

Kyouka deadpanned at Izuku's question, "Does it _look_ like I can pierce my ears?"

"Wh-What about the rest of your ear? It doesn't have to just be the earlobes."

"Are you just asking all this because you're secretly attracted to piercings and want me to get one?"

"Are you deflecting my questions because you're secretly afraid of getting piercings?"

"..."

"..."

Neither of them wanting to admit to the questions, they moved on to another topic.

...

**(30 Minutes Later)**

"...Are you done?"

Kyouka waved him off, "Just hold on." She sat with her phone in hand, an image of All Might displayed on the screen. Izuku was putting his "All Might Face" on display for her to compare with the photos. "I can't find a single difference. I don't even understand how it's physically possible. You can't just develop and then get rid of wrinkles like that. And how the hell do you make more shadows?"

After nearly two hours of being in the restaurant, the conversation was still going strong. They were so focused on one another that it took Kyouka two hours to realize something.

"Does this place not serve food?"

Izuku's eyes widened, realizing that the only menu that they had ever received was a drink menu, the waiter had never come back, and every table in the building didn't have food either. "...Damn it." Kyouka instantly began laughing at his expense and both of their ignorance, facepalming as her body shook with laughter. "Wh-What do we do now?"

Kyouka's laughter subsided and she shrugged her shoulders, "Plan B?"

"I guess being in attacking distance from your dad would make this date thrilling."

"That's the spirit." They got up from their seats, making their way to the front desk to pay. When they got there, the greeter asked them if they enjoyed the music.

Kyouka merely laughed.

…

"So here's the plan of attack."

Izuku stopped in his tracks, "Plan?" The teens stood on the sidewalk leading towards Kyouka's house after picking up some take-out. They were only a few houses away from their destination.

"What? Do you think we can just walk through the front door? I'm not going through that. There are no parents allowed on this date.

"Then what are we going to do?"

Izuku grew scared as Kyouka slowly began to smile.

…

"This is ridiculous."

"Quit your whinin' and keep climbin'."

Izuku grabbed onto another branch, lifting himself higher up the tree. They had walked to the house next to Kyouka's and were climbing the tree in the side-yard. It was close enough to Kyouka's window where the duo would be able to enter. Which would be a whole lot easier if Kyouka hadn't decided that she wanted another piggyback ride. "Not that I mind, but why can't you climb again?"

"I might not be like most girls, but I still care about my outfits. This stuff is expensive. Besides…" She lifted up their bag of food. "...someone's gotta carry this."

Under his breath Izuku whispered, "_As long as the fishnets aren't damaged."_

"What?"

"What?"

"...You do remember I have super-hearing, right?"

"I'm not ashamed. Anyway, are you sure this is okay? This isn't your tree."

Kyouka nodded, "My neighbors are cool. They won't mind."

"What about your mom? Even if we get in, won't she be able to hear us from anywhere throughout the house?"

"We still have to focus on sounds to hear them, but either way she's not who I'm worried about. She'll understand. My dad, however…"

"I feel bad hiding from him." He hoisted them onto the strongest branch near Kyouka's window.

"I would too, if he didn't overreact at everything. Now, I left my window ajar in case of this exact situation. Just a sec." Her jacks extended out, going under the window frame and lifting it upwards. Izuku carefully stepped inside, placing Kyouka down.

The lights immediately flicked on, revealing Kyoutoku at the doorway. Izuku and Kyouka sat wide-eyed, staring awkwardly in silence at the man. "I really hope U.A has a course in stealth, because you two are terrible at it."

"M-Mr. Jirou, I just want to say that I-I-"

"Stop." Kyoutoku sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I see no point in asking you your intentions or true feelings for my daughter. I may be overprotective, overbearing, all that jazz. But, I'm not stupid. Nor am I blind. Just...Just take care of her. Alright?"

"Y-...Y-Yes, sir. With everything I have."

"And also remember that if you hurt her, in any way, shape, or form, I will pulverize you until you're nothing but dust. So then I will roll up your remains into a cigar, only to be smoked while I stand over your unmarked grave in the middle of the Mojave."

"...Um…"

"And that's only if I get to you first. You don't want to know what Mika would do to you. Well, have a good night you two." He walked out, closing the door behind him. Both teens stood there, still confused about what had happened.

Kyouka was completely flabbergasted. What had happened? Last time she checked, her father still couldn't accept the idea of her dating somebody. And that was two hours ago. "What the hell was that?"

Izuku put a hand over his chest in relief, "I think I just used up the last of my luck for the rest of my life."

"I'll...I'll talk to him later." Kyouka looked at the door, still confused on where that all came from. But, she would just need to take what she could get and move on. For now at least. "Just get set up. I'll get the movie." Heading over to her shelves, Kyouka found the movie she was looking for. Turning back around, she stopped to see Izuku just staring at the bed. "You okay?"

"Hm? O-Oh, yeah I just uh...Where do I sit?"

Kyouka lifted her brow in confusion, "The TV is in front of the bed, so...on the bed."

"B-But…"

"Dude, this isn't the first time you've sat on my bed."

"True, but it's different this time. We're...you know."

Kyouka blushed, "Oh. I guess that's true." Two friends sitting on a bed together was a lot different than two people in a relationship sitting on the bed together. "Well...it _is _a test drive. And it's only weird if we make it weird. We've sat side by side plenty before."

"Yeah, but...now it's on a bed."

"How am _I _the one somehow being the more adult one in the scenario."

"I just don't want to cross a boundary!"

"I invited you here, didn't I?"

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, "That's true."

Kyouka shrugged, "I know we both don't really know what we're doing. But, if we were comfortable being close as friends, we should definitely be comfortable doing it now. If anything, we have even more reason now than before."

Izuku blushed, but sat down. "Fair enough. So what are we watching?"

"Ashido was gushing over this film, and when I said I hadn't seen it she brought it to school the next day and shoved it into my hands. It's a really old movie from the late 1970's. It's some sci-fi called "Alien".

"Oh, I've heard of that. It's a science-fiction horror film."

Kyouka's eyes widened, "...Horror?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong?"

"N-Nope. Nothing at all. I'll pop it in." Kyouka looked down at the box and internally slapped herself for not reading the front of the box closely.

"_In space, no one can hear you scream."_

'_Who am I kidding? This was made over a century ago. It's probably super cheesy and fake-looking. It won't be that bad.'_

…

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!"

Izuku had never been too affected by horror films. He found some legitimately creepy, making him not like being alone in the dark for a couple days or so. And "Alien" was definitely one he was finding to be really good. But, now he couldn't be scared as his mind was too occupied by two other feelings.

One was hilarity as he found Kyouka's reactions comical.

The other was...a mixture of a few teenage, hormonal emotions as Kyouka was clinging to him for dear life, her attention completely absorbed by the screen. Kyouka's arms were like a vice around Izuku's body as she stared at the infant Xenomorph burst out of the character Kane's chest.

If he learned anything that night, it was that Kyouka really wasn't a fan or horror.

She nearly crushed Izuku's ribs when the alien suddenly scurried across the table and out of sight. "Ashido you sick daughter of a bastard. How the hell does she like this shit?"

Horror also made her swear a lot more than usual.

Izuku shrugged, "You have to admit that even if you're scared, you're definitely enthralled."

"About as enthralled as a germaphobe would be watching footage of a sewer system. I'm utterly uncomfortable, but can't look away."

"Isn't that the point of a good horror film?"

Kyouka used her chopsticks to pick up a large amount of noodles and shoved them into Izuku's mouth. "Shut up, it's the next scene." Not realizing that she just proved Izuku's statement, they continued to watch the movie. As the rest of the crew, minus Ripley, began to die off, Kyouka would continue to comment. Most of them being "Stupid bitch" whenever someone was killed.

Izuku could tell that their training was paying off. He was pretty certain that Kyouka had dislocated one of his ribs when the alien revealed itself in the air ducts with Dallas. It wasn't until near the end of the film that Kyouka finally seemed to go back to her normal behavior. Ripley had just sent the xenomorph out of the airlock and into space.

"Hehehehe! Hahahaha, oh my God!"

"What?"

"It seriously took me until just now to realize it's just a guy in a suit." She put her hand over her face, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Izuku couldn't help but laugh as well. "What did you think it was?"

"I don't know! Animatronic or something." The alien, while floating aimlessly through space, then proceeded to float back to the spacecraft and seemed to accidentally bang it's face against the ship with a loud "_PANG"_. "Pffft, hahahahahahahaha! You've gotta be kidding me. That was so worth the two hours of terror."

"Well, I'm glad you at least enjoyed one part."

"Are you kidding me? I loved it."

Izuku's eyes widened and his brow furrowed. "Wh-? But you seemed to hate being scared."

"Oh, of course I do. This was an experience that'll give me nightmares, and I blame you entirely."

"You chose it!"

"We wouldn't have had to watch a movie if you had checked beforehand if the club had food."

"I...Crap, you're right."

"If this relationship is going to continue, you better get used to that fact," Kyouka joked. "But, seriously. I may or may not have been scared shitless that entire time," her jacks menacingly moved in front of Izuku's eyes, "and you will tell absolutely nobody about that, but I really did enjoy it. Now I'm going to avoid this like the plague, as I do with everything horror related."

"What about the sequel?"

"...Sequel?"

Izuku nodded, "It's called "Aliens"."

"Aliens? Plural? As in more than one of those freaky things?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck that."

The greenette smiled, "Not it Ashido has anything to say about it."

"I'll only watch it with you. If you weren't here, I would've turned off the movie in the first ten minutes."

The credits were still rolling, the light of the television illuminating Kyouka's already porcelain to have an ethereal glow. Her violet eyes were even more prominent, the light making them more amethyst. Izuku swallowed, already regretting the garlic noodles he had eaten. Hopefully Kyouka didn't care. They slowly leaned in, their noses already touching. The first kiss was feather-light, their lips ghosting over the other's. The second was a real kiss, their lips pressing against each other fully. "S-Sorry about the garlic. I-"

"Dude, we ate the same things. Who cares?" Not giving him a chance to respond, Kyouka kissed him again, her arms reaching up to cup his face with both of her hands. Izuku snaked his arm that wasn't propping himself up around Kyouka's waist.

After about a minute, their lips disconnected. Kyouka placed her head on Izuku's shoulder, her heart rate trying to slow down. They sat like that for what seemed like hours as the credits finally ended, returning the screen back to the main menu.

At the very beginning, Izuku had so many fears about intimacy. For his entire life, he had been closed off from most comforting touches. Before Kyouka he couldn't even get near a girl without becoming a complete catastrophe.

Now that he has it, though? He wasn't sure if he could live without it. There was a major difference between regular heat and body heat. And he definitely preferred the latter over the former.

Granted, he was still hesitant. He was never particularly sure where was an okay place to put his hands. Obviously there were a few that were definitely off-limits.

Unless the relationship became serious, that is.

Although, even if he _was _allowed access, he was in no way ready for that. His heart might actually explode.

This, however? The comfort and warmth of Kyouka's body, her smaller frame resting perfectly against his, was just perfect for the time being. It was everything he never knew he needed.

"Did you ever think this would happen?"

Izuku was taken out of his thoughts by Kyouka's question. "You and I? Or just in general?"

"Both, I guess."

The young hero shook his head, "In general, no. Not really. After word got out about my quirklessness, most people ignored. Including the girls. I sort of just accepted a long time ago that it would never happen. With everything else going on in my life at the time, not being able to enter a relationship was just another thing I couldn't have. Besides, I was so focused on being a hero that it didn't exactly cross my mind a lot. I mean, it did. Anyone would think about it at some point. I just didn't find it to be something that needed to be focused on too much."

Kyouka frowned, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. People can be such assholes."

"D-Don't worry about it. And, for you and I? Not really, at least for the most part. I might be able to analyze quirks, but I'm useless when it comes to analyzing social cues. I didn't think it could actually be a thing until the beach."

"What about our training made you think there was something between us?"

"...I-I meant the night before last."

Kyouka leaned back and looked him in the eye, "That's when we kissed!"

"Exactly."

She shook her head, but was smiling. "You really are dense sometimes, aren't you?"

"I've been told that before. Now what about you?"

"Me? Well…" Kyouka wasn't sure how much she should actually say. She really didn't want to point out her bodily issues, especially because she would likely have to go into specific things she didn't like. And that was too long of a list. "Really I was just too focused on getting into U.A. Maybe down the line at some point, but I didn't try for anything."

"And us?"

Kyouka pressed her lips together, "Hmm, sort of. Did I know you liked me? Yes. At least I was pretty sure."

"You did."

"Neither of us were exactly subtle. It still took me a little bit to actually fully realize it. The real question was on if I should act on it. But, here we are now. I feel like I made the right choice. It also helps that for some reason I'm attracted to walking stalks of celery."

"You've already used celery."

"What do you want me to call you? Lettuce? I'm running out of green vegetables here. I can't do everything by myself."

Izuku laughed, looking past Kyouka to check the time on her alarm clock. He sighed, "It's about time for me to go."

"Damn it. Are you sure you can't just stay? I need somebody to talk to, because I sure as hell am not falling asleep after that movie."

"If you want, I'll call you when I get home. I'll talk for as long as you need me."

"It'll have to do." Sadly, Kyouka got off of the bed with Izuku following. After making their way downstairs, they reached the front door.

Izuku turned to Kyouka, "I-I think that went well."

"It really did. As our first test, I'd say we got the highest grade possible." Kyouka reached forward and hugged Izuku, her head on her shoulder. "Thank you for tonight, Izuku. I'll plan the next one."

Izuku returned the hug, "...Are you going to make me do something I don't like as revenge for the movie?"

"You assume too much if you think I'll spoil anything I have planned."

"I should've expected that." With one final kiss, Izuku departed in hopes to catch the next train before it left the station. Kyouka closed the door, leaning her shoulder against it as she simply stared off into space, thinking about the night's events.

"Would you look at that?" Kyouka turned to see her father walking down the staircase. "My Kyouka, _not_ with a frown on her face? I would ask who you are and what have you done with my daughter, but I know you would kick anyone's ass before they had the chance to replace you."

His daughter scoffed, "Trust me, my usual look isn't going anywhere."

Kyoutoku walked into the kitchen, filling up a glass of water. "You have a good time?"

Kyouka nodded, "Better than I could've hoped...Especially when a certain someone made an appearance." Her father turned away from the fridge to look at her, already knowing that conversation was coming. "What happened? Where in the world did any of that come from?"

"Who do you think?"

"...Mom?"

"I won't lie, I was freaking out. The second she told me that she thought you were going on a date tonight, I went full "Dad-Mode". But, then she locked me in the recording booth." They both laughed at the thought. "Then, she reminded me about who you were. About how you've never acted this way around...well, anybody. About how that green, mop-headed ball of anxiety must've really been special to you. That was already obvious saying that he was the first person you had ever brought over to the house, talked about openly, hung out with 24/7, and of course, sucked his face off."

"WE DIDN'T SU-..." Kyouka pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a deep breath. "Continue."

"Look, it's pretty clear that Midoriya is a great kid. And he's definitely smart if he realized how amazing you were. Not to mention brave. You can be pretty scary at times." Kyouka oddly found that flattering. "Just know that he's welcome here anytime, and he won't have to fear for his life. Just as long as he makes you happy. Keep in mind though, that doesn't mean Mika and I won't test him from time to time. C'mon, we're parents. It's in the job description."

Kyouka smiled broadly, "Thanks, Old Man."

The father chuckled, "There she is." He walked past her, but not before kissing the top of her head, and made his way back upstairs. Kyouka pulled out her phone, following her father to the second floor as she awaited her call from Izuku.

**(Jirou's Personal Recording Studio)**

Kyoutoku entered the studio, his wife turned to look at him from the mix table. "Do you feel better?"

"Only just a little."

"You'll feel a whole lot better once you see their relationship truly blossom."

He sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. "It's not like I could've stopped her anyway."

"Stopped her? Probably not. Troubled her? Yes, you would have. You know how much she cares about what we think, no matter how indifferent she may act. In her mind, her care for that boy would've trumped our authority. But, your relationship with her would've become strained. Besides, how long do you think you could've kept up this behavior."

"You don't know the patience I have."

Mika chuckled, "Either way, now Kyouka will be more comfortable having him out in the open with us. And I may like him, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't make sure our daughter is getting nothing but the absolute best. Which means…?"

Kyoutoku's eyes lit up, realizing what she was getting at. "Parental tests, here we come."

**A/N: Yes, the Xenomorph does thud his head against the spaceship. It is hilarious. **

**So, I've been thinking, should I do the "Two Heroes" film? Cause honestly, I kinda don't think I should. It literally has no real addition to the plot, and adding in the Full Gauntlets just has a whole other load of problems. Like people continuously saying that they don't work for Izuku's full body, even though they clearly do throughout the entirety of the film. Watch the fucking movie again and tell me they don't work for Full Cowling. Hell, just watch Izuku and All Might vs Wolfram on Youtube. That's all the proof you need. **

**AAAAnyway, if I don't do the movie, I honestly might just make an entirely new summer arc instead. Like maybe a road trip or something. They have a couple of weeks before the camp starts, so there's time. I'm not entirely sure yet, but I'm definitely leaning towards no movie. **

**Which is sad because we don't get to see Kyouka in a dress.**

**But, we don't have to waste time.**


	11. The USJ

**A/N: And here we are. I tried getting this out a few days ago, but college and work hit me like a truck.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

***Cough* Also check out my Persona content *Cough***

**(Kyouka's House)**

When Izuku had woken up that morning, he was still on cloud nine from the night before. His date with Kyouka had gone perfectly. As he stepped up to the front door, his excitement to see her again was overwhelming.

*****_Knock* *Kno-*_

The door suddenly swung wide open with Kyouka standing on the other side. She pushed him away, closing the door behind her.

"Kyouka wh-"

"We have about 15 seconds to come up with an excuse to not have dinner with my parents tomorrow night. Go!"

"I-I-...Well...I-I don't know! I'm not good at lying!"

"Well we gotta think of something or we-"

"Too late!" Kyouka groaned as the door opened up once more to reveal Kyoutoku and Mika. Mika smiled at Izuku, knowing full well he was trapped. "So Midoriya, how about it?"

Izuku looked back and forth between Kyouka and her parents. "Y-...Yes?" Kyouka facepalmed next to him as he shot her an apologetic look.

Kyoutoku smiled, "Wonderful! 6 o'clock tomorrow good for you?"

"S-Sure."

Mika's eyes suddenly widened, "Oh, I have an idea. Why don't you bring your mother along? We haven't even met he-"

"No!" Everyone went silent at Izuku's interruption, confused by the outburst. "U-Uh, my mom is just pretty busy with her job. M-Maybe some other time." Kyouka squinted her eyes at Izuku, but kept quiet for the time being. "I-I- guess I'll see you tomorrow at six. We better go, Kyouka."

Kyouka was still suspicious, but she followed him. They walked to the station, boarding their train while still in silence. As soon as they sat down, the purplette turned to Izuku. "Hey...does... your mom doesn't know about us, does she?"

Izuku sighed, fiddling with his fingers. "N-No. I-I'm so sorry. I jus-"

He was stopped as his hands were grasped by Kyouka's. "Hey, it's okay. You said it yourself. You're not comfortable with sharing stuff like this with her. I'm not mad, I just wanted to make sure. Hell, my parents wouldn't know about us if they didn't see us kiss. I like my privacy."

Izuku smiled, "You're really not mad?"

"Mad? No. A little concerned? Yes. How long do you plan to keep it from her?"

Izuku shrugged, "I-I don't know. I've thought about it, but I just get choked up when I try to tell her."

"Does anyone else know? Besides my parents that is."

Izuku sighed, but nodded. "Just one. Toshinori, my mentor I told you about."

Kyouka squeezed his hands, "So you're more comfortable sharing with him than your mother?"

Izuku turned to look out the window and spoke quietly, "I guess I am."

Kyouka wasn't particularly sure how to handle the situation. She knew Izuku had some sort of disconnect with his mother, but it might've been worse than she thought. A relationship was a pretty big deal. Especially your first one.

And he couldn't even tell his mother about it.

It was time to get to the bottom of this.

"What did your mom do?"

Izuku turned back to her, "What?"

"All you told me was that your mom did something that caused you to grow that distance from her. If you're not ready th-"

"You're right." Izuku gripped Kyouka's hand back. "If I want this to work, you should know. I can't keep hiding stuff from me."

Kyouka smirked, "Well, not everything all at once. We gotta keep things interesting for years to come."

A small smile graced Izuku's face, "Fair point, but I think I should share this now." He kept his voice low, careful not to speak loud enough for any other passengers to hear. "Back when the doctor told me I was quirkless, to say I was devastated is an understatement. I was...broken. I didn't speak, I barely blinked, I couldn't even tell if I was breathing or if my heart was still beating. As soon as I got home, I replayed my favorite video that I told you about. Just watching All Might save those people over and over again. When my mom came in to check on me, I asked her…"

He paused, Kyouka could see slight pain in his eyes. The memory was clearly vivid in his mind and it still has an effect on him.

He continued, "...I asked her if she thought I could still be a hero."

Kyouka grimaced. "And she said no?"

Izuku scoffed, "I almost wish she said no. But she just...cried. She cried, hugged me, and just kept saying she was sorry over and over again."

Kyouka looked down to her lap, "You think she didn't believe in you."

"There's a fine line between thinking and knowing."

"I'm sur-"

"No." Izuku turned to look at her, his expression uncharacteristically angered slightly. "She didn't. No one did."

Kyouka knew Izuku didn't like this side of himself. He didn't like being angry, especially at other people. It was no wonder he didn't like talking about his past. It was nothing but a million reasons to be pissed off at people.

Izuku might've been the living definition of pure, forgiving, heroic, etc. But, he was still human. And humans had hearts. Hearts that were vulnerable and could be hurt. Many tried to keep all that hurt inside, never letting it free because of the negativity it brought.

Izuku was no exception.

She cupped his face, quickly bringing their lips together. Releasing his lips, both blushed. But, Kyouka kept her gaze steady. "People believe in you now."

Izuku smiled, "I know. Thank you for being one of them."

"Anytime." She leaned her head on her shoulder. "Why do you wish she said no? That's basically the same thing."

Izuku frowned, "It really isn't. Not to me."

"Why?"

Izuku opened his mouth, but then closed it. "I don't know. It just does."

_'Okay, clearly that's a lie. I can't push him too much. Baby-steps, Kyouka.' _She kept quiet, not wanting more stress on him. "Her situation must've been hard, you know? I can't imagine that question was easy for her to answer either. I doubt she even fully knew how to answer."

"...Yeah."

_'Definitely the wrong thing to say.' _She understood why he was hurt by Inko. She really did. But, Kyouka couldn't say she didn't understand what Inko was saying either. Like she said before, she didn't think a quirkless hero was 100% impossible.

...But she couldn't deny that it would essentially be impossible to be an official hero. All of the hero schools had entrance exams, and they were all only suitable for those with powers.

As much as she thinks Hagakure and Mineta passing the entrance exam was surprising, they had quirks.

Even if not battle-oriented, Tooru was invisible, so the robots likely couldn't see her. If she found some weak point in the bots, it would probably be much easier for her to get to them.

And as much as she hated the little perverted pipsqueak, his quirk could slow down and stick the robots together. Maybe even have them stick to walls or find some way to tear their limbs off.

Once again, unlikely. But, not impossible.

Izuku wouldn't even have had those small advantages.

As a mother and an adult, Inko definitely would've known the reality of the situation. She would've known how small his chances were. Not to mention the danger he would be in.

Kyouka couldn't imagine being in that situation. Not in Inko's place, or Izuku's.

"Let's just focus on the present. Like the fact that you're now in U.A, with a quirk, and to top it all off, you're dating the coolest girl ever."

Izuku's frown vanished, a laugh escaping his lips. "That is all true."

"You're damn right it is. Our stop is coming up, c'mon."

…

**(U.A High: Girl's Locker Room)**

"So, what do you guys think this special training is gonna be?"

The Class 1-A girls were all changing into their hero costumes in the locker room. Aizawa had informed them that the class would be embarking on a trip to a special facility to undergo training.

Tooru responded, "I dunno, but I just hope it goes better than my battle test. Todoroki got Ojiro and I out super quick."

Mina smirked, "Maybe we'll get to see Jirou kick ass again."

Kyouka jumped in surprise as she fastened her belt. "Wh-What?"

"C'mon, we all saw it. You absolutely destroyed the other team by yourself! Uh, no offense, Yaoyorozu."

The rich girl was at her locker brushing her fingers through her hair, undoing any knots. "It's quite alright. Even I have to admit that my loss was... unexpected. At the very least, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

Mina's sly grin grew wide, "She was probably trying to impress Midori."

"I'm not dignifying that." Kyouka turned back to the mirror inside of her locker. _'Why do I even have this thing?'_ Sighing, she grabbed her torn shirt, throwing it over her tank top. She began fixing her hair, her purple locks ruffled from the wardrobe change. She hummed to herself, thinking about how Momo was brushing through her hair. _'I wonder if Izuku would like that better.'_

Being self-conscious about your body was one thing. But, being in a relationship made it even worse. Now she was doing everything in her power to look good for Izuku. Which, in her mind, sadly never turned out to be enough.

Maybe some changes were in order.

Kyouka grabbed her jacket, exiting the locker room and making her way out to the front entrance of the school. There a bus awaited her, along with the rest of 1-A. Some of the boys were already there, including Izuku. He gave her a wave, a small smile and blush adorning his face.

God-damn it, why was he so adorable?

She made her way over to him. Both of them leaned against the gate away from the rest. "What's up, Green Bean? I see your hero suit is all patched up."

"Y-Yeah, luckily Kacchan didn't bust it up too badly. They managed to fix it quickly. Although, apparently someone from the Support Course saw my gear and specifically asked for me. A student named Mei Hatsume. Power Loader asked for me to stop by the workshop tomorrow to talk about changes and upgrades to my costume."

"Already? We just got our suits."

"Well, I think they want to get a better grasp of my quirk. I doubt the student forms gave them enough to go on to stop my bones from breaking."

"Fair enough. And speaking of change…" Kyouka grasped a strand of her hair. "Do you think I should grow my hair out?"

Izuku shook his head, "If you really want to. But, I really like your hair. I've a-actually always liked that hairstyle."

Kyouka lifted a brow, "Really? Why this hairstyle?"

"I-I- don't know. Just one I've seen before and took a liking to is all."

Kyouka squinted her eyes at him in suspicion. It was obvious he was avoiding the question. But why? Where would Izuku have seen this exact hairstyle and really liked it? This was Izuku, so maybe a hero? A comic-book character? Someone from a movie?

...Oh.

"...Is it because it's one of the exact same haircuts Ramona Flowers had?"

"W-What!? N-No! O-Of course not. I-I've nev- uh, who? Who even is that? I've never even s-seen that movie or read the comic. Besides, sh-she had so many hairstyles with multiple different colors! Why w-would I pinpoint just the one with short purple hair with two long strands in the front?"

"If you don't know who she is, how do you know it's from a movie? And comic? And that she had ever-changing hair? And you can describe one of the styles in oddly specific detail?"

"...Um…"

Kyouka chuckled, "So, when were you gonna tell me about this little crush?"

"...My last will and testament?"

Kyouka continued to laugh, "Did that influence your attraction to me?"

"N-No! No! But…"

Kyouka's smirk grew wider, "But, what?"

"I-I can't lie and say it's n-not a perk."

Kyouka laughed into her hand, looking around to make sure no one was looking. She quickly pecked his cheek. "You are so weird."

"Thanks...I-I think."

"Well, at least I know who I'm going as for Halloween."

Izuku perked up, "A-Are you serious?"

The bus horn honked, signalling for the class to board. Kyouka patted his cheek as she walked past him. "You'll see."

Izuku watched her walk away, his heart fluttering at the thought. "...When did my life become so amazing?...Oh, right. When I met her." He made his way onto the bus, taking a seat next to Kyouka as they waited for the rest of the class to arrive.

Kyouka began running her hands through the long strand of hair on the left side of her face. She smiled to herself, happy to know Izuku liked that part about her.

Her eyes widened. _'Uh oh.'_

And there it was. Her greatest enemy had appeared.

Her brain.

All of the negative thoughts immediately began to rush in, ruining all of the happiness she had felt.

_'I...I can't compare to Ramona Flowers. She's gorgeous in that movie! And I can't be the only person with this hair. What if there's someone who-'_

"Are you okay?" Kyouka was startled out of her train of thought to see Izuku looking at her concerned. "You look pale."

"I'm always pale."

"I mean like, sickly pale. Like you were scared."

Kyouka cleared her throat, shaking her head. "No, I was just thinking about dinner tomorrow night."

"O-Oh. Yeah, I'm nervous, too. But I'm sure we're just blowing it out of proportions. I mean, your dad approved of me last night. And your mom already likes me."

"Y-Yeah, you're right." Kyouka breathed a sigh of relief, happy he believed her. It was so strange how Izuku was like a security blanket, but also the source of her fear. It was like being afraid of a thunderstorm and being comforted by a pillow that looked like a cloud. She felt so comfortable in her own skin when he was around, but he was the reason a lot of her bodily issues grew ten times their normal size.

She knew he liked how she looked, but she just didn't understand why. And she didn't have the courage to ask. For some reason her mind had a personal vendetta against Izuku, doing its best to convince her that Izuku was lying or would eventually come to his senses and look for someone better.

"By the way," Izuku suddenly said. "I-I think you're far prettier that Ramona."

Kyouka's jaw slightly dropped, "U-Um, thanks."

"I-I know you found it funny, but I just didn't want you to think otherwise. Just in case it sounded like I-I did or anything."

"Hey, it's cool. Everyone has crushes on actors and stuff. I-It's just hair, dude."

Izuku nodded, "R-Right. Sorry, I-I just didn't want it to sound like I still liked her or anything. Not that I liked her in the first place! I-I just thought she was very...a-attractive...b-but, I think you're much more attractive...um…"

Kyouka facepalmed, her laughter bubbling in her chest. "How do you go from extremely smooth to a bumbling idiot so fast?"

"I...I'm smooth?"

"So all of these lines I've fallen for were nothing, but a complete accident? Yeah, that's about right." This was exactly what she meant. Now the negative side of her mind had completely vanished.

Izuku Midoriya truly was a one-of-a-kind.

With him around, things would be okay.

…

**(USJ: Mountain Zone)**

_'The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?' _

Kyouka looked at all of the villains surrounding her in the mountain zone. It was just their luck that as soon as they get to the USJ, villains start popping out of nowhere. Now she was being used as bait to drag All Might there. Luckily, she wasn't alone. Izuku was to her left, and to her right…_'Please be someone good. Please be someone good. Please be someone good.' _To her right was Momo, already creating a bo staff from her body. "Oh thank goodness."

Momo looked back to them, "Do you two need weapons?"

Kyouka nodded, "Yeah, a katana will do just fine."

Izuku shook his head, "I'll be okay."

The purplette glared at him, "So you plan on breaking your bones?"

"...Escrima sticks, please."

"That's what I thought." Momo created the weapons, handing them to her teammates. The trio stood back to back, waiting for the villains to make a move.

Izuku whispered,_ "You know how to use a katana?"_

_"Sort of."_

_"What's that supposed to mean? Where'd you learn?"_

_"Anime." _Izuku and Momo both looked at Kyouka with a brow raised. _"It's better than nothing, isn't it?"_

_"Fair enough."_ Izuku's body began to glow, green lightning enveloping his body. _"Should we form a plan?"_

_"I got one."_ Kyouka plugged her jacks into hand-speakers. "KICK SOME ASS!" She punched the ground, sending soundwaves out to shake the landscape. The villains around them began to stumble, their balance being knocked off.

Izuku couldn't help but smile at her inner fire showing. "Again, fair enough." He jumped forward, slamming his escrima sticks into a villain. With the attack being powered by a small portion of One For All, it caused the thug to fly back into other villains, knocking them to the ground.

Izuku sprinted at more villains, sliding under and hitting their legs as he went. Jumping back up, he slams his sticks into their heads, knocking them out cold. He looked around_, _watching his Kyouka and Momo easily take down bad guys.

A man with hooks coming out between his fingers tried to run up to Kyouka from behind. Izuku quickly threw one of his escrima sticks, hitting him directly in the temple. He ran back to her, re-entering their position of back-to-back. "If new hero students can beat them with ease, these guys definitely aren't trained or particularly intelligent."

Kyouka plugged in her boots, blasting soundwaves into the crowd. "Well, that's good at least."

"How's Yaoyorozu?" They looked over to see the ponytailed girl flipping around and over enemies, bashing them in the head or legs.

"...I think she's doing just fine. Maybe she was a ninja in another life?"

"I just hope everyone else is handling this as well as us."

...

**(Flood Zone)**

"WE'RE SO DONE FOR!"

Denki grabbed onto Mineta, "PULL IT TOGETHER MAN!"

_*SLAP*_

"Ow! Why would that help me?!"

"I dunno! That's what they do on TV all the time!"

Tsu turned over to the boys, "Guys?"

Mineta clutched his head, "We gotta get off this boat! But how? They're everywhere!"

"Guys?"

Denki sighed, "I won't lie to you. We might have to sacrifice someone."

"Hey!" They boys turned to Tsu, their eyes wide. "Kaminari, just threaten to shock the water."

"...What?"

"Just. Threaten. To. Shock. The. Water. Ribbet."

"...Huh." Denki charged himself up, sparks flying everywhere.

The villains looked up and saw what was happening. "Holy shit! Everybody out of the water! He's gonna fry us!" They all began to frantically swim away, climbing out of the water and running to safety.

"That…went much better than expected."

…

**(Mountain Zone)**

"Kyouka move!" A villain whose quirk allowed him to rocket out his hands and bring them back with coils connected to his arms fired his hands at the punk. Izuku leaped forward, grabbing the coil connecting the hands to the thug's body.

He yanked hard, the villain flying towards them. Kyouka quickly plugged in her hand speakers, slamming her first into the villains cheek and blasting sound into him. The villain fell to the ground, a few teeth missing and his ears ringing.

Kyouka looked at her fist, "That...was awesome. But, ow." She shook her hand, trying to ease the pain. "Remind me to send a request for brass knuckles to the Support Studio. Is that all of them?"

Izuku looked around, "Yeah, I think so. Where's Yaoyoro-?" Izuku was interrupted by Kyouka slapping her hand over his eyes. "W-What are you doing?"

"Just don't look. Yaoyorozu, what happened?!"

Izuku heard Momo say, "I had to pop a shield out of my back to stop a blow from the last villain. But, he's been handled."

"Are uh...you need my jacket or something?"

"It's okay, I can just create another outfit."

Izuku's eyes widened from beneath Kyouka's hand, _'Oh.' _Izuku covered his own hands over Kyouka's, just to make absolutely sure he saw nothing. "I-I'll just wait in silence."

Kyouka sighed and whispered, _"You better not be picturing her topless."_

_"I-I'm not, I swear." _Izuku whispered back. Really, he wasn't. In fact, the idea of a topless woman just gave him another image. _'Stop imagining Kyouka topless. Stop imagining Kyouka topless. Stop imagining Kyouka topless. Stop imagining Kyouka topless...being in a relationship has changed me.'_

Momo's voice called out, "You can look now." Kyouka lifted her hands from Izuku's face, both relieved that it was over.

Kyouka shook her head, "You really need to change your costume."

"But my quirk is most effective wh-"

"Just…" The punk girl lifted a hand to stop her. "...think about it, okay? Let's go." Kyouka began walking away, then stopped. She looked all around the mountain Zone, then turned back around. "How the hell do we get down from here?"

Izuku scanned the area, not seeing any way down either. "Well, this is a facility meant to be extremely realistic. We were probably meant to climb up and down like a regular mountain."

"Oh, I see. So the Flood Zone gets a damn waterslide, and we get a Temple of Doom bridge. Very realistic!" Kyouka exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"C'mon, I'll carry us down. I shoul-"

***BOOM***

All three teens turned towards the source of the sound, their eyes meeting a small crater holding the bruised and battered body of their homeroom teacher down at the center plaza of the building. Izuku immediately rushed forward, Full Cowl rushing throughout his body. "Come on!" Kyouka and Momo followed behind him, the former leaping on Izuku's back. Momo followed Kyouka's example by grabbing onto the punk. Izuku began leaping down the rocks with swiftness and ease, landing at the bottom and allowing the two on his back to climb off of him.

The greenette began to step forward, but One For All suddenly shut down, body no longer enhanced. He looked down at his body with confusion, "What the-?"

"Izuku, look." He followed Kyouka's finger as she pointed at Aizawa. Their teacher's face was still in the dirt, but barely shifted to look at them. His eye glowed red before he closed it, putting his face back down.

It was a warning. He was telling them to stay away.

Izuku didn't know exactly how fast Full Cowl was. He didn't even know how much of his power he was using. It was just enough where his body didn't hurt. However, even if he boosted his power to where it hurt to move, he still didn't think he would be fast enough to get Eraser out of there. They were standing about 20 meters away, and that monster was still close.

Momo stared at the beast, "What is that thing?"

Kyouka shivered, "I don't know, but I can't tell what's scarier. Handy-Man, Shadow Ball, or Bird-Brain."

The grayish-blue haired man turned to look at the teens. With his long unruly hair and the hand on his face, how he could see them they did not know. Izuku gulped, "I-I don't think he liked the nickname you gave him."

Kurogiri appeared behind Shigaraki, "I'm sorry, but one of the students got away. His quirk made him too fast for me."

"Kurogiri," Tomura growled, "if you weren't our only ticket out of here, I'd turn you to dust." Kurogiri inwardly rolled his eyes as Tomura began scratching his neck. "We came for All Might only, not a dozen pros. We can't handle them all. It's game over, for now at least."

Kyouka squinted her eyes, contemplating what she was hearing. "Someone got away and is alerting the school. Pros are on the way, but the villains are retreating."

Izuku's eyes widened, "They're just gonna leave? We can't just let them escape, they're after All Might."

Momo's gaze moved over to Aizawa, his broken body, limbs, and near disintegrated elbow clear to see. She moved her eyes over to the large creature pinning him down, not even a scratch on him. "...We might not have a choice."

Kyouka lifted a hand to silence them. "Wait, both of you be quiet. He's saying something."

She caught the back half of his sentence. "-wound the Symbol of Peace's pride and leave a few dead kids." Kyouka's eyes widened as a black portal suddenly appeared before her, an arm covered in severed hands shot out at her face.

Izuku's world slowed down as the image of Kyouka decaying flooded his mind. His body seized up…

A swirl of colors blasted in his mind, shooting through his body.

"Don't…" His body glowed bright, his green sparks arcing off of him at an extreme abundance. "TOUCH HER!"

A large pulse erupted from him, his electricity blasting in a large circumference. The blast knocked everyone down, but was focused into Tomura. The villain flew back, skidding across the ground. Once he came to a stop, he experienced small spasms as the energy was still affecting him. "What the hell?" Tomura shakily propped himself up, his body still quaking as the shock was fading."

Kyouka groaned as she stood back up, her hands slightly shaking. Momo was still trying to get back up next to her. She felt like she had just rubbed her socks on the carpet for an hour. "Izuku?" Their eyes met, and somehow he looked even more confused than her. "What was that?"

"I-I-...I don't kno-"

"Nomu!" Izuku was suddenly grabbed by the arm, lifted up into the air by the monster. Nomu raised Izuku high, coming face-to-face with the teen.

Kyouka's eyes widened, _'How the hell did he get over here so fast!?'_ She lunged at the Nomu, her sword at the ready.

...Only to be grabbed by the collar of her shirt and lifted up right next to Izuku. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me!"

Tomura stood back up, still hunched over in pain. "I'll admit, you got the slip on me newbie. That was a pretty cool ultimate move. But, honestly it just makes me even more pissed off."

Momo was still crouched down, trying to figure out how to help her friends. But she froze. Her mind wouldn't operate. Thoughts on what to do overflowed her mind, her indecisiveness rendering her useless.

Tomura raised his voice, commanding over his beast. "Nomu. Kill th-"

***BAM***

A large gust of wind blew throughout the entire facility.

**"Fear not…"**

Dust billowed by the door, a massive silhouette emerging from the clouds.

**"I am here."**

Out of hundreds, even thousands of videos of All Might Izuku had watched in his 15 years of living, never had he ever seen the Pro Hero look so utterly pissed.

Tomura chuckled to himself, "The final boss."

**"I had a gut feeling something was wrong, so I cut my meeting with the principal short. That's when I found Young Iida. What he told me made my blood boil." **Toshinori ripped off his tie, letting it drop to the ground. **"So I suggest you all surrender now before I let my anger out on you."**

Kyouka looked down at Nomu. It had not even flinched or turned when All Might arrived. It's dead eyes just stared straight forward. Whatever that thing was, it was never or no longer was human. As far as she could tell, it didn't think for itself. It only acted on Shigaraki's orders, fighting whoever he told it to. Nothing but a tool.

So if it's just brain-dead right now, then…?

Kyouka lifted her sword up, stabbing it down directly into the exposed brain of the creature.

**"ARRRAAAAGGHHH!**" Izuku and Kyouka both fell to the ground as Nomu suddenly dropped them, the monster wailing out in pain. It began to stumble around, trying to gain it's bearings.

Tomura yelled at it. "Nomu! Listen to me!" But, he was ignored. Nomu no longer listened to orders. _'His super regeneration must be going overdrive trying to fix his brain around that sword. But that quirk isn't' strong enough to fix a brain, at least not correctly. My Nomu's finished.'_

_'How is that thing not dead!?_'

It raised up its fist, about to slam down on the teenagers. But in the blink of an eye, Izuku, Kyouka, and Momo were near the entrance staircase. Aizawa was behind them, now completely unconscious. Any villain that was standing before was now out cold, and All Might stood between them and Nomu. The beast was still hollering, punching at anything it saw from rocks to just the air.

Kyouka's eyes widened, "Did All Might just bring us here? I didn't even blink." She received no verbal response, only Izuku slamming into her side, his arms wrapped around her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just thankful my plan didn't backfire and ended up with that thing crushing us."

"Jirou! Midoriya!" They both turned to see Ochako running down the steps towards them. "Are you guys alright?"

Izuku nodded, "Y-Yeah, we're fine. Thanks to Kyouka."

Kyouka shrugged, "It's what they get for leaving the brain completely exposed like that. Uraraka, help me wrap up Mr. Aizawa." The brunette nodded, grabbing the remains of the hero's scarf tightly coiling it around his broken and decayed arm.

Izuku looked back at the battle. All Might was still watching the Nomu run around, throwing punches at nothing. Shigaraki was screaming at it, trying to give it commands to no avail. Izuku was still worried. It was subtle, but Thirteen had shown three fingers to Aizawa when it was revealed All Might wouldn't be there.

His three hours were up.

All Might was running on completely on fumes.

Nomu ran at Tomura and threw a punch, but the villain fell through a black portal, landing back near Kurogiri.

Tomura growled, "He's useless now! We have to leave or we're done for. Get us out of here."

"As you wish."

**"I don't think s-"** Toshinori was about to go after the duo, but Nomu's blind rage led him toward the students. All Might rushed over, grappling Nomu into a suplex and slamming him to the ground. The shockwave from the slam shook the ground. Nomu began to flail wildly, still having no control over his own actions. His hand hit All Might's face, the hero grunting in pain, but still keeping his grip on Nomu. Toshinori brought his fist back, launching it forward. **"Smash!"**

***BAM***

The hero's eyes widened as Nomu didn't even acknowledge the hit, continuing to move frantically.

Tomura hummed to himself, suddenly intrigued. "Sorry, but Nomu has shock absorption. He was perfectly designed to kill you. You'd have a better shot tearing him apart, piece by piece. Although, that wouldn't work either with his super regeneration." He sighed, _'Although, it won't do much with that sword in his head.'_

Kurogiri spoke up, "Shall we leave?"

"Wait." Tomura stopped Kurogiri from summoning a portal. "You know what? Teleport us a safe distance away, get us a good view. If he's weak like our sources say, then this might still be interesting." They vanished in a black mass, reappearing at the top of the mountain zone.

Izuku could see them at the top of the mountain. They could easily slip away from up there. He took a step forward, ready to run.

**"Don't!" **Izuku jumped at All Might's words, the hero staring at him as he tried to hold down the Nomu. **"Young Midoriya, stay put! Those two are too dangerous! Find the rest of your class, get everyone out of here!" **Nomu flung his head back, hitting All Might and getting out of his grip. He swung his open fists in all directions, slashing All Might across the chest multiple times with his nails. Nomu sped towards the stairs once more, his speed faster than anyone except All Might could see. The Pro Hero tackled Nomu, sending them both into the water of the splash zone.

Toshinori swung down repeatedly on Nomu's head as they sunk further to the bottom of the pool, but the hits did nothing. Nomu scrambled away, kicking All Might in the stomach before swimming up and grabbing onto the bottom of the boat. It tore it's way through the bottom of the vessel. All Might hit the bottom of the pool, using the ground to leap out of the water and onto the boat. He was met with the sight of three of his students.

Tsu, Denki, and Minoru were still on the boat, not being able to leave. Until All Might had knocked them out, the villains they scared out of the water surrounded the body of water, leaving the fight at a stalemate. Nomu's arm smashed through the deck, the monster shrieking as he tore through the wood like it was wet paper. Toshinori quickly grabbed onto all of three of them and jumped back to the entrance. Izuku was rushing back from the landslide zone, more of his class in tow.

**"SKRAAAAAH!"**

Nomu leaped from the boat, landing in the center plaza. He screeched and continued to flail, his movements spastic. They seemed more like muscle spasms than actual punches. All Might let the students step down, he turned back to look at Nomu. _'His brain has gone completely haywire. My hits do nothing, and it's like he doesn't even care that I'm fighting him. It's like trying to wrestle an animal with rabies. If he was just focusing on me, it'd be easier to deal with. But, now he attacks anything that moves, even the students. And with how rabid he's become, collateral will be horrific.' _Toshinori's thought process was interrupted by a heavy cough, the familiar taste of blood filling his mouth. _'And I'm already pushing my limits here. This needs to end. Now.'_ The Pro turned around to his students, **"Everyone, get out of here. I can handle this. Young Iida and the other heroes should be here soon. Once emergency services arrive, make sure Aizawa and Thirteen receive immediate attention."**

The class began to pile out, carrying the injured heroes outside. Izuku was unmoving, his knowledge of All Might's limits kept him from leaving his mentor behind. Toshinori nodded to Izuku, signalling that he would be alright. Reluctantly, Izuku followed Kyouka and the rest of his friends out the door.

All Might cracked his knuckles, **"So!" **he yelled to Tomura at the top of the mountain. **"Shock ****_Absorption_****, huh? I can work with that."** He began taking steps toward his opponent. **"You've come here with this monster, hurt my colleagues, attacked and tried to kill my students, all in the name of what? I assume to kill me? I'll admit, this is the toughest opponent I've had in years. However, the results will still remain the same. My defeat is never an option, because…"** The colors of One For All bloomed in his mind, the power of his predecessors coursing through his body. **"I am the Symbol of Peace!" **

The hero zoomed over to Nomu, his fist pulled back. **"SMASH!"** The punch landed directly into Nomu's face. He wasn't dazed, but his balance was knocked off. Nomu punched at Toshinori, the hero ducked under the attack and uppercutted the monster's beak. **"You've lost all control, so your movements are sloppy!" **All Might fired on all cylinders, his fists becoming nothing but blurs as he punched Nomu. The monster continued to slash and flail, cutting all over All Might's arms. **"Your quirk is shock absorption, not nullification. So that means you have limits! If you were made to best me, then I'll just have to do better than my best! Beyond 100%!" **Nomu wailed, opting not to use his limbs. He opened his mouth, biting down hard on one of All Might's fists. It broke multiple teeth, but it still managed to snag the hero with his sharp teeth. Toshinori grunted, but found an opening. He grabbed the handle of Kyouka's sword still lodged in Nomu's head, yanking it free.

**"GRRAAAAH!" **Nomu wailed in pain. His super regeneration was trying to repair the cells in the brain, but it wasn't taking. Whatever cognitive power Nomu used to heal itself was gone. It wouldn't be long before the creature was brain-dead...or, at least more brain-dead than it already had been. But, the damage it could cause in that little amount of time was too much. Especially if he managed to escape the USJ facility. It needed to go down.

**"Here's one final lesson for you! You never would have been able to defeat me, even at your full strength!" **All Might grabbed onto Nomu's fist, pulling him down as All Might fell on his back. **"Because a real hero…" **He placed his feet on Nomu's stomach, kicking him straight up into the air. **"...will always find a way for justice to prevail!" **All Might rolled back, jumping at full power. **"That is the true meaning of…" **He flew past Nomu, planting his feet in the ceiling and jumping off. Once more, One For All shot through his muscles. His fist collided with Nomu as he rocketed back down to the ground at blinding speeds. **"PLUS ULTRAAA!"**

Toshinori punched Nomu straight into the ground. The resulting explosion destroyed all of the lights and doors into the building. The center of the dome blasted off, wind gushing out and swirling the clouds above. The ground for miles shook, the students outside tried to keep their balance. The dust cleared, Nomu's head steaming as he laid in the crater spreading nearly the entire diameter of the USJ.

…

**(Outside the USJ)**

All of Class 1-A was staring in awe as debris from the dome began falling. The building was nearly blown apart from that blast. All Might truly was the best. Izuku regained his balance as the quaking finally stopped. His anxiety was getting to him. Was that earthquake from All Might or Nomu? What if All Might couldn't maintain his hero form? _'I'm the only one here that knows. If he's in trouble…' _Izuku looked over to Kyouka, who looked back at him.

Her eyes widened, "Noooo. I know that look. That's your 'I'm probably about to do something stupid' look."

"I-I...I have to check on him!" He took off in a sprint for the door.

Kyouka groaned, "No you- Ugh!" She chased off after him, telling Ochako not to follow and that she'd bring him back.

...

**(USJ)**

All Might chuckled as he cracked his neck, **"I really am getting old. That would've only taken 5 punches if I was still in my prime."** He turned his gaze back up to Tomura and Kurogiri, still on the mountain watching him. **"Well? Are you gonna come down and finish what your creature couldn't? I'll wait."**

Kurogiri turned to Tomura. "He _is _battle damaged and tired. Perhaps we can team up an-"

"No," Tomura sighed. "We're done here. He was wrong. All Might isn't weakened at all. Get us out of here."

"Are you su-"

"Now."

Kurogiri nodded, a black portal appearing behind them.

All Might frowned, _'Damn, they're getting away. But, I can't move. One step and I'll pop right out of this form. I'll just have to save them for another day.' _He heard footsteps behind him. Toshinori craned his neck to see Izuku on the steps running down to him. The teens eyes looked up to the villains, their bodies vanishing into the portal. **"Young Midoriya, I said to wait outside with your classmates."**

Tomura locked eyes with Izuku, their gazes unwavering. "...Midoriya, huh? I'll remember that." With those final words, they were gone.

**_*POP* _**

All Might sighed in relief as he went back to his weakened for-

"Izuku!"

**_*POP*_**

All Might quickly flexed back up into his hero form, the strain immediately coming back. Izuku didn't even turn around, he knew what was waiting for him. _'Just accept the hit.'_

***SMACK***

Izuku rubbed the spot on the back of his head where Kyouka had just smacked, her glare burning a hole in his soul. "What the hell is the matter with you?! What if the fight wasn't over! Yo-"

**"*Ahem* I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think it'd be best if you two went back outside. The other Pros will be here any second. Oh, Young Jirou. You can have this back." **

Kyouka looked down at the sword being handed to her. The blade was covered in the blood and gray matter of Nomu. "...You can keep it."

Izuku outstretched his hand, "I'll take it!" Kyouka and Toshinori both looked at him questioningly. "W-Well, it's a sword All Might used in a great battle. It's the ultimate collector's item."

All Might shrugged his shoulders, **"Sure, why not?" **He handed Izuku the sword, his successor staring at it with awe. **"Now, go on. Join your class."**

Izuku's eyes widened, realizing that All Might was barely holding on at the moment. The dust still blowing from the shockwave was disguising the steam flowing off of the hero's body. "U-Uh, yeah let's go, Kyouka." He quickly grabbed her hand, dragging her out of the building.

***POP* **

"Oh thank goodness," Toshinori said as he flopped onto his back, blood pooling in his mouth. He spit it out on the ground, sitting up and checking his wounds. He gasped as more footsteps approached, but calmed when a familiar hand laid down on his shoulder.

Midnight was crouched down next to him, the other pro heroes standing besides her. "It's just us. Are you alright?"

Toshinori popped his neck, "About as much as I can be these days. Three hours is probably gonna be even more tiring from now on." He groaned as he stood up, Nemuri helping him. "All thanks to this guy."

Ectoplasm walked up to Nomu, tilting his head, "What the hell is this?"

"The villains referred to it as Nomu. It was genetically designed to kill me. Luckily, I didn't fight this thing at its most competent. It had grabbed Young Jirou, but she managed to stab it in the brain."

Snipe remarked, "An exposed brain? Pretty big design flaw."

"Either way, it definitely had the capabilities to end me. It may not have had control of its actions, but that meant he couldn't control his strength either. Every hit was like being punched in the face by...well, me."

Midnight gazed down at Nomu, "Who could have the capabilities to make something like this?"

All Might frowned, the most likely answer leaving a terrible taste in his mouth.

He feigned ignorance, "...Who knows?"

...

Izuku watched as Aizawa and Thirteen were loaded into ambulances, driven off to receive treatment. Izuku, Kyouka, Ochako, and Tenya all sat together on the ground near the front entrance. Class 1-A was waiting for one of the Pros to come back and drive them back to school to receive their stuff.

Izuku gasped as he looked at his sword, "Ah! Wait! He didn't sign it!"

Kyouka shook her head, "You are such a dork."

_*Bzzzt*_

Izuku pulled out his phone to see a text from All Might. _"Meet me in the teacher's lounge once you get back. I'll be there shortly. It's important."_

Kyouka nudged him, "Texting your mom?"

"Oh, no I-...I should probably do that, shouldn't I?"

"Dude, we almost died. Yes, you should." Kyouka gasped, whispering so the other two wouldn't hear. _"This is the perfect excuse to not have dinner with my parents tomorrow!"_

_"I think we both know that's not gonna work. Besides, I thought we agreed that we were blowing this whole thing out of proportions."_

_"Stop being right."_ Izuku smiled, even after a crisis Kyouka made him calm and happy. She might not know it, but she was a miracle worker. "By the way, I really liked that sword. We need another brainstorming session soon. I got a new gear idea. You know what, I need some de-stressing. How about tonight?"

"Sure. I have to do something after school, not to mention calm down my mom when she learns what happened. I'll be over later." Soon, Present Mic showed up to drive the bus. The class boarded, the events of the day lingering in their minds. However, most of them didn't fully comprehend what it would mean for the future.

…

"Ah, you're here." All Might closed the door to the teacher's lounge, making his way to the sofa across from Izuku. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. The villains weren't that powerful. I think they were just lackeys."

"That's good...but, also bad. Lackeys mean they have someone to follow."

Izuku nodded, "That Shigaraki guy?"

"I hope so. But, I have a bad feeling he's not what we really need to fear. At least for the moment."

A look of confusion appeared on Izuku's face. "What do you mean? Who?"

Toshinori sighed, "I won't lie. I've been avoiding telling you this, but...it's time you know the origin of One For All. You need to know about All For One."

…

**(15 Minutes Later)**

Izuku clutched his head in his hands as he tried to fully process everything he was told. Toshinori sighed, "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I know I should've told you this before giving you my power, giving you the choice to back out. But...I just didn't know how. How do you tell a kid whose dreams you're about to make come true there's a maniac out there trying to kill him?"

Izuku shook his head, "I-It's...It's fine. I just…He knows me now. Shigaraki, he looked right at me when he left. He knows my name. I'm so stupid."

"No, you're not."

"No one has ever beaten him?"

"Technically I did, but obviously I wasn't thorough enough."

"And now I'll have to…"

Toshinori shook his head, "Not if I have anything to say about it. If he's out there, I'll beat him before he even utters your name."

Izuku nodded, "Even if I do face him, this changes nothing. I'll...I'll get stronger. I'll beat him. I'll live up to my own dreams, and the ones you want for me."

Toshinori chuckled, "Most would try to find a way out of it. But, you...I couldn't have picked a better successor."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, "Th-Thanks. But…"

"What is it?"

"It's n-nothing."

"Young Midoriya." Toshinori reached over and placed a hand on his pupil's shoulder, signalling for him to speak his mind.

"...It'll sound selfish."

"We're all selfish, Young Midoriya. Some of us just choose to indulge in it."

"I guess...I-I guess I'm just tired of even the very little amount of good things that have ever happened to me being stripped away every time. I already knew I would make enemies as a hero. It was inevitable. But, apparently I already have them. And because of that I have to give up the best thing that ever happened to me."

"What are you talking about?"

Izuku looked down at his lap, sadness in his eyes. "With All For One, and the guys from the USJ, with this target on my back...I'm a danger. The most powerful man in the world is after me and everyone I care about. I-..." Izuku swallowed hard, tears brimming in his eyes. "...I need to s-stop dating Kyou-"

_*THWACK*_

"OW! What was that for?!" Izuku rubbed the spot on his forehead where All Might had just karate chopped.

"For being stupid...Okay, maybe not _stupid _per say. But, just hear me out." Izuku nodded, waiting for Toshinori to continue. "Look, I know that a lot of my relationship advice is basically useless to you. And this may sound reckless, but don't give up on your love-life. Don't let All For One win. He should not, cannot, and will not have control over any part of your life."

"But what if I-"

"Young Midoriya, I saw the cards I was dealt in life. It wasn't that love wasn't an option, I simply devoted my entire life to being a hero. I don't want that for you. Sometimes I think about what it would be like if I did have somebody. Maybe, just maybe, if I had someone that I loved and cared for like you do Young Jirou, then I wouldn't have this damn wound. Maybe my caution to stay alive and live my life with them would have saved me from my arrogance and drive to destroy All For One without hesitation. I started my path believing love to be a distraction or an exploit that could be used against me. Your path doesn't have to be that way. You need to see that love is what saves us in our darkest hour. Young Jirou will give you more strength and hope than I ever could as a hero or a teacher." Toshinori stood up from his seat next to Izuku, putting a hand on his head. "One of the main goals as your mentor and predecessor is to make sure you don't make the same mistakes that I did. Someday, my power will finally fade. I won't be able to stand beside you or defend anymore. At least, not in battle. That's where Young Jirou will come in. In fact, she's already begun to replace me in that regard. Don't take that for granted. Stand beside her as well. You won't regret it. And she won't either. I'm sure that if you told her all of this now, she would still choose to stand with you."

Izuku processed everything Toshinori had said, thinking about how many cherished memories with Kyouka he had obtained in only a couple of months. Really he thought about how much he cherished life again because of her.

All For One be damned.

"...O-Okay. I promise, I won't give up on her. On us."

Toshinori smiled, "Good. You two will be happy together." His mind shifted to the idea of All For One fully returning, the idea of threatening Izuku and his loved one darkened his mind. _'I'll make sure of it. He already took Nana, I won't let him take away someone else we care about. He won't come near you. No matter what it takes.'_

Izuku wiped his eyes, "Y-You say you're not good at emotional stuff, b-but you're really wise when you need to be."

"What do you know? I am. Although, my brain took a lot to process all that. I kinda have a headache now." The Pro rolled back his shoulders, groaning at the popping in his muscles. "Now I have to go handle damage control. At least I don't have to do any of the paperwork. And the time off from school will give me the chance to work on my lesson plans. Nezu is really making me work for my position here."

"You have lesson plans?"

"Eh, more or less."

"Does that mean you're completely winging it?"

"I'm gonna pretend you weren't just completely right."

Izuku chuckled as he watched All Might exit the room, the teen sighing as his mind continued to process it all. He didn't know if staying with Kyouka was the right choice. If something happened because of him, he'd never be able to live with himself. He did know one thing.

If he was going to stay with Kyouka, he was going all in. No more being afraid. Kyouka was perfect. She was the girl of his dreams.

Enough testing. Time to make it official.

It was time to ask Kyouka to be his girlfriend.

...Now, he just needed to figure out how to do that.

**A/N: Yeah I didn't focus a lot on the other students, because I felt it was pretty unnecessary here. It's not way any of you are here for.**

**Also, Izuku's power will be elaborated on next time. It's not the same as his power from Thank You**

**Also, to anyone who accuses me of projecting my crush on Ramona Flowers onto Izuku...**

**You right. **


End file.
